6'8" x 10'3" Persian Heriz Rug | Star Medallion | Ivory Corner Spandrels

This hand-knotted Persian Heriz measures 6'8" x 10'3", a true room size that covers a seating group without swallowing a normal living room, and it sits comfortably in the family of 7x10 Persian rugs most buyers are hunting for. What sets it apart from the average village Heriz is the drawing: the field is filled with fine curling vine scrolls rather than the blunt angular brackets you usually see, and the wool has the deep lanolin sheen that only comes from the flocks of northwest Persia. The pile is full and even across all 4 corners, the selvages are intact and the cotton fringes are clean and original. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it is hand-knotted in Persia.

Design and Motifs

The centre holds an 8 point star medallion outlined in ivory, its core packed with a small rosette in green and rose, set inside a lobed navy cartouche that throws out serrated palmette arms in every direction. From that anchor the field breaks into a dense lattice of curled vine scrolls, hooked leaves and tiny blossoms, each one drawn in navy and then reoutlined in pale blue so the pattern reads clearly even from across the room. Two ivory corner spandrels sit at each end, filled with their own black star rosettes and leafy sprays, and they give the red field its shape. The main border runs a rhythm of navy ground, rosettes and reversed palmettes, flanked by guard stripes of small 4 petal flowers on a slate blue ground. Collectors who like geometric Persian rugs will notice how this weaver softened the usual straight lines into curves while keeping the classic medallion and corner layout intact.

A Rose Red Field Against Deep Navy

The field is a warm rose red, a shade closer to old brick than to fire engine, and it shifts gently between lighter and deeper passes of the weft where the dye lots changed on the loom. Against it the medallion and border read as a near black navy, which is what gives the rug its depth on camera and in person. Inside the medallion and scattered through the vines are salmon pink, soft teal green, mustard gold, chalk ivory and a powdery light blue, all in small quantities so they sparkle rather than compete. The ivory spandrels and the ivory outline around the star are the brightest notes and they lift the whole piece. In a room with cream walls and wood floors the red warms everything up, while next to a navy or charcoal sofa the palette locks together. Buyers browsing red and burgundy Persian rugs will find this one on the rosier, more antique side of red rather than the harsh modern end.

Heriz Origin and Weaving Quality

Heriz is a group of villages east of Tabriz, spread out on the slopes below Mount Sabalan in northwest Persia. The water there runs through mineral rich rock, and local weavers have always said it is what makes Heriz wool so tough and so glossy after decades of use. Rugs from this district are built on a cotton foundation with a heavy wool pile, knotted tight enough to hold their shape but never so fine that they lose the character of village work. Most Heriz weaving sits under 200 knots per square inch, which makes the tight curvilinear vine work in this piece unusual and worth pointing out: the weaver clearly had a good cartoon and the skill to follow it. That combination, a Heriz build with drawing closer to a town workshop, is exactly what makes a piece like this hold its value and take 50 years of foot traffic without thinning.