7'1" x 11'7" Persian Sarough Rug | Kerman Open Field Floral Medallion | 1980s Excellent Condition

Measuring 7'1" x 11'7", this is an odd-size piece that solves a problem a standard 8x10 cannot: a little narrow, a little long, and exactly right for a room that runs deep. It is a Persian Sarough rug from the 1980's, hand-knotted on a cotton foundation with a dense, springy wool pile that still stands tall across the whole surface. The drawing follows the Kerman open field formula, where the weaver leaves most of the field bare so that the single diamond medallion and the deep floral corners carry the entire composition. Condition is excellent and perfect: full pile, straight sides, original hand-tied fringe and no repairs. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The field is open, and that openness is the point. At center sits an elongated diamond medallion packed with roses, 8 petal rosettes, small palmettes and curling split leaves, finished with a stepped floral pendant at each end so the medallion reads as a lantern suspended in the red ground. The 4 corners carry heavy cascading floral sprays, bouquets of roses and serrated leaves that spill inward and stop in a soft scalloped line, which is the signature move on the finest Persian Kerman rugs. The main border runs on an ivory ground with a continuous vine scroll, alternating lotus palmettes and fan-shaped blossoms, framed by narrow guard stripes of tiny connected rosettes and a reciprocal dark outline. Nothing is mirrored mechanically: look at the two corners in the close-up photographs and the leaf counts and blossom colors shift slightly, which is how you read a hand-drawn cartoon rather than a machine repeat.

A Study in Antique Red, Blue and Ivory

The field is an antique red with a raspberry undertone, deeper and cooler than a brick red, and because the pile is long it shifts as you walk around it, lightening to a dusty rose where the light catches the tips and dropping to a wine tone in the shade. Against it the medallion works through a full palette: indigo and midnight navy outlines, soft sky blue and teal in the leaves, salmon and coral in the rose heads, cream and ivory in the scrollwork, with small touches of gold. The corner spandrels lean more heavily on sea blue and teal, which cools the overall effect and keeps the red from dominating. The ivory main border is the quietest area, a chalky cream carrying rose pink, rust, slate blue and a touch of camel. Buyers shopping the broader range of red and burgundy Persian rugs will notice how clean the dye lots are here: no abrash streaking, no muddy transitions, just even saturated color from end to end.

Sarough Weaving and Build Quality

Sarough weaving comes out of the Arak region of central Persia, a group of villages and town workshops that built their reputation on one thing above all: durability. The weave is tight, the wool is tough and high in lanolin, and the pile is left heavier than in the fine city workshops, which is why Sarough rugs from the first half of the 20th century are still in daily service in American houses today. The back photograph with the ruler shows that story plainly: small even knots in neat rows, a flat consistent cotton foundation and no slack or looseness anywhere along the selvedge. This piece pairs that village build with Kerman floral drawing, so you get the refined curved line of a workshop design on a rug that was made to be lived on rather than admired from a distance. At 1980's age with full pile and a perfect structure, it has decades of service ahead of it.