6' x 9'9" Persian Nain Rug | Signed Wool & Silk All Over Floral | Burgundy & Ivory, Never Used

A burgundy field is the uncommon choice for a Nain, and it is what makes this one worth stopping on. This 6' x 9'9" piece is hand-knotted in fine wool with silk outlining the flowers and vines, so the pattern lifts off the ground color as the light moves across it. The upper border carries a woven cartouche, which on a Nain means the loom and the workshop behind it were confident enough to sign the work, and the close photo of the back shows the tight, even knotting and thin, flat handle that separates real city weaving from village copies. Among fine Persian Nain rugs, this is the classic all over drawing in an unusual colorway, and it sits in the very usable 6 x 9 size range. It is new, never used and in perfect condition, and it ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

There is no central medallion here. Instead the field carries a mirrored all over composition built around lobed rosette cartouches, each one drawn as an ivory frame filled with a 4 petal blue blossom and set on the diagonal so the eye reads a lattice rather than a row. Between them run slender flowering vines, small 8 petal rosettes, tulip and carnation heads, curled lanceolate leaves and tiny paisley forms, all connected by hairline tendrils that never break. The main border is a wide ivory band of scrolling arabesque vine with palmettes, flanked by narrow tan guard stripes of repeating flower heads and a twisted navy cable at the edge. The corners resolve cleanly, the spacing of the repeat holds from one end of the 9'9" length to the other, and the whole drawing is curvilinear, which is only possible when the knot count is high enough to turn a curve without stepping it.

The Burgundy and Ivory Palette

The field is a deep burgundy, closer to cranberry and dried rose than to a bright red, and it reads slightly darker in the angled photos than in the flat catalog shot because the pile leans one way. Against it sits a full range of blues: mid indigo in the rosette centers, a soft powder blue in the leaves and petals, and near black navy for the outlines and the cable edging. The flowers themselves are ivory and cream, with warm ecru and tan tones through the vines and a few chocolate brown leaf accents that keep the palette from going cold. The main border switches the balance completely, an ivory ground with navy and pale blue scrollwork and small burgundy blossoms echoing the field, while the guard stripes and the signature cartouche sit on a warmer sand tan. The silk highlights catch light in the petals and the rosette frames, so the ivories flash brighter than the wool around them.

Nain and Its Weaving Standards

Nain sits on the edge of the central Persian desert, west of Isfahan, and its weaving industry is young by Persian standards. The town made fine wool cloth until the mid 20th century, then turned its skilled hands to the loom and, within a generation, was producing some of the most precisely drawn rugs in the country. Nain work is defined by the cotton foundation, the short clipped pile, the ivory and blue palette (a burgundy ground like this one is the exception rather than the rule) and the use of silk to outline every flower and vine, a detail that gives the design its raised, embroidered look. Quality is graded by the number of plies in the warp, and the finest pieces are drawn on paper by a dedicated designer before a single knot is tied. The woven cartouche on this rug places it in that workshop tradition, and the flat, dense back in the ruler photograph confirms the knotting is tight and regular throughout.