8'1" x 11'1" Tabriz Mahi Design Oriental Rug | Herati Fish Field | Wool & Silk Pile | Brand New

This is a brand new, never used hand-knotted piece measuring 8'1" x 11'1", woven in India in the Tabriz Mahi drawing with a dense, lustrous pile of wool and silk over a cotton foundation. The weave is tight enough to hold the tiny 4 petal flowerheads of the herati lattice cleanly across the whole field, and the silk in the blend catches light along the medallion outlines and leaf tips as you walk around it. At just over 8 feet by 11 feet it covers a full seating group or a 6 to 8 seat dining table, which puts it squarely in the most useful band of 8 x 11 Oriental rugs. It ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming the hand-knotted construction, materials and origin.

Design and Motifs

The whole field is drawn in the herati, or mahi, pattern: a repeating diamond lattice with a rosette at each center and 4 curved lancet leaves turned outward like fish around it, which is where the fish name comes from. Sitting on that lattice is a lobed central medallion in tan and camel, filled with palmettes, small leaves and a single turquoise rosette at the exact center, finished with a stepped outline and a feathered cream edge. Two dark pendants repeat the same flower at the head and foot, and a large scalloped cartouche shape frames the inner field. The main border carries big serrated acanthus leaves and rosettes on black, flanked by a taupe guard stripe of small blossoms and a narrow floral meander at the outer red edge.

The Dark Brown, Black and Cream Palette

The dominant reading is dark brown, deepening to near black behind the medallion and warming toward burgundy and oxblood where the lattice is densest. Against that ground the weaver has scattered cream and ivory flowerheads, tan and camel outlines, soft olive green leaves and small points of rust, dusty rose and pale slate blue, so the field reads rich and quiet from standing height but breaks into 6 or 7 distinct colors when you kneel down. The outer field lightens to beige and sand, the guard stripe shifts to a grey toned taupe, and the outermost edge is finished in a deep red that frames everything. If you are building a room around deep tones, it sits naturally with our other brown rugs, dark walnut floors and aged leather.

Made in India, Woven in the Tabriz Mahi Tradition

India is where most of the world's finest contemporary hand-knotted work is made today, and this piece shows why: the knotting is even from end to end, the lattice never drifts out of register, and the wool and silk blend has been clipped low so the drawing stays crisp. The pattern takes its name from the northwest weaving city of Tabriz and the mahi fish motif associated with it, a design that master weavers in India have reproduced at a very high standard for decades. If you are weighing how a piece like this compares with a village or workshop weave from elsewhere, our guide on what separates an Oriental rug from its regional cousins is worth 5 minutes before you buy.