6'8" x 9'9" Persian Ardebil Rug | Navy Blue Mahi Herati Field | Ivory Diamond Medallion | Excellent Condition

This is a classic northwest Persian Ardebil in the size most American rooms actually want, a true 7x10 Persian rug measuring 6'8" x 9'9" with a 3/8" wool pile on a cotton foundation. The field reads almost black until light hits it, and then the whole surface resolves into a tight diamond lattice of small blossoms around a single ivory and rose medallion. The weave is even, the pile stands up uniformly from end to end, the selvedges and both end finishes are sound, and the condition is excellent with no repairs to report. Every rug we ship leaves Freeport with a certificate of authenticity documenting origin, materials and hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

The field carries the mahi herati drawing, the fish pattern, built from a continuous diamond lattice with a rosette at each intersection and paired lanceolate leaves curving around it like fish circling a pond. It repeats across the entire ground as a true all-over rug design, which is why the rug sits so quietly under furniture: there is no single focal burst, just rhythm. At the center sits an elongated diamond medallion, ivory outlined with a serrated dark edge, filled with its own pale rose lattice and a small stepped cartouche at the core, finished top and bottom with ivory palmette pendants. The 4 corners are cut as pale blue spandrels with stepped diagonal edges, each one holding a separate lattice of blossoms. The main border runs rust ground with alternating 8 petal rosettes and curling boteh, flanked by ivory guard stripes of meandering vine and a narrow navy stripe that keeps the whole frame crisp.

Color Palette in Detail

The ground is a deep navy blue, dark enough at a distance to read as ink, and against it the small motifs pick up camel, sage green, soft rose, powder blue, ivory and the occasional saffron yellow center, so the field looks richly flecked rather than flat. The main border shifts to a warm rust that leans terracotta and salmon depending on the light, a color that pulls the whole rug toward warmth and keeps the navy from feeling cold. Pale cornflower blue in the 4 spandrels is the surprise note, lifting the corners and separating the field from the border. The medallion works through three tones in sequence, ivory outer ring, dusty rose interior, then a small ivory and navy core with rose accents. Among navy blue Persian rugs this one is unusually friendly to warm wood floors and cream walls because of that rust frame.

Ardebil Origin and Weaving Quality

Ardebil sits in the far northwest of Persia, high cold country near the Azerbaijan border, where long winters and mountain pasture produce wool with real body and a natural luster that holds dye well. The town and its surrounding villages weave on cotton warps with a symmetrical knot, and the local specialty is exactly what you see here, the mahi lattice drawn at a finer gauge than ordinary village work, paired with a geometric diamond medallion and stepped corner spandrels. Look at the lattice lines in the close-ups: they stay straight and continuous across more than 9 feet of length, with the rosettes landing on the grid rather than drifting, which is the mark of a weaver working from a disciplined graph rather than improvising. The 3/8" pile has been clipped low and even, so the drawing stays legible, and that same density is what makes an Ardebil a practical rug for a busy room rather than a piece you have to protect.