8'1" x 10'1" Indian Mahi Tabriz Design Rug | Wool and Silk Herati Fish Pattern | Brand New

This is the Mahi drawing done properly: a black ground filled edge to edge with the miniature fish lattice, one ivory diamond medallion floating in the middle of it, and four matching corner spandrels that repeat the same tiny motif in reverse. It is hand-knotted in wool with silk highlights on a cotton foundation, and at 8'1" x 10'1" it sits squarely in the most useful of all 8x10 area rug proportions for a seating group or a six to eight seat dining table. The pile has never been walked on: the tips are sharp, the fringe is clean and the selvages are tight. Every rug we ship carries a certificate of authenticity identifying the weave, the fiber content and the measured size.

Design and Motifs

Mahi means fish, and the name comes from the herati unit repeated across the field: a small rosette inside a diamond, flanked by 4 curved leaves that read like fish circling the flower. Here that unit repeats thousands of times without a break in the drawing, which is the whole test of the pattern. The center medallion is a lobed ivory diamond with a rose and olive core, finished top and bottom with slim pendants and cartouche finials. Ivory spandrels close the 4 corners and carry the same lattice at reduced scale. The border system runs 7 bands deep: a black main border of palmettes, rosettes and serrated leaves, a pair of wide beige bands of linked rosettes and vine scroll, and narrow reciprocal guard stripes that keep the whole frame crisp against the dark field.

A Black Field With Ivory, Rust and Olive

Seen flat from above the field reads black, dense and almost inky. Seen from an angle it warms considerably, because the lattice itself is drawn in rust, terracotta and soft aubergine over the dark ground, with pinpoints of silver grey and chalk white marking the fish leaves. The medallion and spandrels bring the light back: cream and ivory grounds with rose, olive green, camel and a little charcoal in the flowerheads. The wide borders shift to a warm sand and beige, ringed with red rosettes and deep green leaf tips. Silk sits in the highlights rather than across the whole pile, so the ivory outlines and the medallion edge flash brighter as you cross the room while the black stays matte and grounded. It is a dark rug that behaves like a warm one under lamplight.

Made in India, Woven to the Tabriz Mahi Standard

India is where most of the world's best contemporary hand-knotted work is made today, and this piece shows why. The Mahi layout is unforgiving, since a loose weave turns the fish lattice into mush, so weavers only attempt it at a knot count fine enough to hold the small motifs. The knotting here is tight and even, the pile is clipped low so the drawing stays legible, and the wool has the springy handle of good highland fleece rather than the limp feel of cheap yarn. Corners resolve cleanly, the border bands hold their width along all 4 sides, and the cotton warps lie straight enough that the rug lays flat without persuasion. If you are weighing this style against the Persian city weaves that inspired it, our guide to what separates a Persian rug from an Oriental rug explains exactly where the differences lie.