6'9" x 10'8" Persian Sarouk Rug | All Over Floral Sprays on a Black Field | Ivory Palmette Border

Woven in the 2000s in the weaving villages around Arak in central Persia, this piece follows the formula that made Persian Sarouk rugs the most requested handmade floor piece in American homes for the better part of a century: a saturated near black ground scattered with detached floral sprays, a broad ivory border, and a heavy, tightly packed wool pile that feels substantial the moment you step on it. Condition is perfect, with full pile from edge to edge, straight sides, tidy black selvedges and the original hand-tied cotton fringe still intact, as the corner and back photographs show. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming the origin, the materials and the hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

The field carries a classic all over floral design: dozens of separate bouquets and curling flower sprays set at regular intervals, each one drawn with its own rosettes, buds, serrated leaves and small curved vine tips, so no two adjacent clusters read exactly alike. Look closely at the overhead photograph and the sprays link into a soft diamond lattice, with a small red diamond rosette sitting at the exact center of the rug and two larger floral cartouches anchoring the field above and below it. The main border is a wide ivory band of scrolling vine carrying big lotus palmettes and pink and red blossoms, flanked by narrow guard stripes on a dark ground with 4 petal star rosettes and a fine outer meander. The drawing is curvilinear throughout, with no straight lines anywhere, which is exactly what separates a proper workshop Sarouk from village floral work.

A Near Black Field Lit by Madder Red, Rose Pink and Indigo

The ground is a deep black with a faint blue cast that reads almost as midnight navy in raking light, and that darkness is what gives the flowers their glow. The bouquets are built mainly from madder red and a lighter rose pink, outlined in ivory and cream so each petal stays legible against the dark field, with indigo and a lighter teal blue filling the leaves and the small cross shaped blossoms. Touches of gold ocher and olive green appear in the leaf tips and flower centers, adding warmth without breaking the two tone rhythm. The border reverses the scheme entirely, putting the same red, pink and blue palette on a soft beige ivory ground, which frames the dark field and keeps the rug from feeling heavy in the room. The close-up photographs show the wool taking light differently at each angle, a sign of good hand-spun fleece and natural dye behavior rather than flat chemical color.

Sarouk Weaving in the Arak Region

Sarouk takes its name from a village north of Arak in central Persia, and the town built its reputation on weight and durability as much as on drawing. The knots are tied on a cotton foundation and beaten down hard, so the back is firm and even and the pile stands up thick and dense, which is why old Sarouks survive generations of traffic and still hold their pattern. The wool from this region is springy and lanolin rich, taking dye deeply and resisting crushing under furniture legs. Buyers comparing 7 x 10 Persian rugs should note that this one runs a touch longer at 10'8", which makes it a comfortable fit under a sofa grouping or a 6 seat dining table with the chairs pulled out.