7'11" x 11'6" Persian Sarouk Rug | Salmon Red All-Over Floral Field | Ivory Border

This is the pattern most people picture when they hear the word Sarouk: a warm salmon red ground carried edge to edge with small detached flower sprays, framed by a wide ivory border of linked blossoms. The rug measures 7'11" x 11'6", hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation with a 3/8" pile that stands full and level from selvage to selvage, with no low spots and no repairs. It is a genuine room filler that sits comfortably alongside our other 8x11 Persian rugs, wide enough to seat a full sofa group on the wool rather than half on and half off. The drawing is disciplined, the wool has that slightly waxy handle that good central Persian fleece develops, and the back reads clean and regular knot by knot, as the ruler photo shows. It ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it as a hand-knotted Persian Sarouk rug.

Design and Motifs

The field is an all-over floral design built from separate bouquets, curled acanthus leaves and single blossoms floating free on the open red ground rather than being tied together by a continuous vine. The sprays are organized on a soft diamond lattice, so your eye picks up diagonal rows running corner to corner, and at the center the weaver drew a slightly larger vertical lozenge with a small navy rosette at its heart, a quiet medallion that never breaks the rhythm of the field. Look closely at the close-up photographs and you will find at least 8 different flower heads repeated through the pattern, from flat 5 petal roses to fan-shaped palmettes and tight buds on curving stems. The main ivory border runs a garland of alternating rose, navy and gold blossoms with paired serrated leaves, set between narrow blue guard stripes that carry a smaller running flower head, and the outermost stripe finishes in a fine reciprocal line that keeps all 4 corners crisp. The corner resolutions are well handled, a detail that separates a properly drawn Sarouk from a rushed one.

A Salmon Red Ground Against Ivory and Blue

The ground color is the reason this rug works. It is a salmon red, softer and pinker than the tomato red of a Kashan and warmer than a brick, with a faint horizontal abrash that moves through the open areas and proves the wool was dyed in batches and knotted by hand. Against it the flowers are drawn mostly in blues: a deep navy that does the outlining and the darkest blossom centers, and a lighter sky blue that fills petals and leaf bodies and gives the field its cool sparkle. Between those blues sit ivory flower heads, a dusty rose, a mustard gold and a muted olive green, each used in small quantities so no single accent takes over. The wide border reverses the balance, putting an ivory ground under the same rose, navy, gold and green palette so the frame reads light and the field reads warm. Practically, the combination is easy to live with: the salmon picks up terracotta, camel and warm woods, while the navy and sky blue give you a direct line to blue upholstery, denim or a painted cabinet.

Sarouk Weaving in Central Persia

Sarouk is a village in the Arak district of central Persia, and its looms built a reputation on two things: a heavy, tightly packed wool pile and a floral vocabulary drawn with more control than most village work. Weavers there use a cotton warp and weft, beat the weft down hard, and clip the pile a little longer than a city workshop would, which is why a Sarouk feels substantial underfoot and why these rugs survive decades of traffic in dining rooms and front halls. The detached spray layout on a salmon or rose field became the export standard early in the 20th century and has been woven in the region ever since, with the better pieces, like this one, keeping the flowers small, evenly spaced and individually shaded rather than stamped out at one size. On the reverse the knot rows are straight and consistent across the full 7'11" width, the selvages are original and tight, and the fringes finish the warps cleanly, all signs of a weaver who kept tension steady on a long, wide loom.