6' x 9' Chinese Tabriz Rug | Wool and Silk | Ivory and Burgundy

A 6' x 9' rug knotted in China, with a wool and silk pile clipped to three eighths of an inch. The field is a warm ivory, close to the colour of undyed cotton, filled edge to edge with fine floral vinework around one star medallion in burgundy. A broad burgundy border frames it on all four sides, and the ends finish in long white cotton fringe.

Design

The drawing follows the medallion-and-corner scheme associated with Tabriz: a lobed star at the centre of the rectangular field, built in rings of burgundy with small cartouches of sage and rose set into each point, and a rosette at the core. Slim pendants hang from the top and bottom of the medallion, and the four corners are filled with quarter spandrels on a pale sage ground, each holding a burgundy boteh with a rose inside it. Between them the ground carries a continuous scroll of thin stems, serrated leaves and small open roses, drawn evenly rather than in repeating blocks. The main border runs palmettes and rosettes on burgundy, linked by a looping vine, with narrow ivory guard stripes inside and out and a thin brown outline keeping the bands apart.

Colour

The field is the quiet part: a soft ivory that reads almost buttery where the light crosses the pile, so the flowers sit on it without much contrast. Against that, the burgundy of the medallion and the border is dark and slightly blue in tone, nearer wine than brick. Green appears as a muted sage in the corner spandrels and in the leaves, and the smaller flowers bring dusty rose, soft blue-grey, camel and a near-black navy used for outlining. The overall effect is pale and close-toned, with the two burgundy masses holding the composition together.

The making

Hand-knotted in China, as are many of the rugs we carry, in a wool and silk pile that takes the fine detail of the floral drawing without crowding it. The back shows an even, close weave, and the pile stands at three eighths of an inch, short enough that the outlines in the medallion stay sharp. The rug is new and in perfect condition, with full pile and intact fringe at both ends.