8'2" x 10' Wool and Silk Oriental Rug | Mahi Tabriz Design | Brand New, Never Used

Measuring 8'2" x 10', this hand-knotted rug is drawn in the Mahi Tabriz manner, one of the most disciplined layouts in the traditional repertoire: a fine herati lattice running edge to edge under a single lobed medallion. The pile is wool with silk worked into the medallion, the pendants and parts of the border, which is why the surface changes tone as you walk around it and why the photographs shift between brown and deep red. It is knotted on a cotton foundation, has never been on a floor, and is one of the easiest proportions to place, so it belongs with our other 8x10 hand-knotted rugs. It ships with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The mahi, or fish, pattern is a diamond lattice with a small rosette at each intersection and two curved leaves flanking it, the pair of leaves being the fish that give the design its name. Here the lattice is knotted very small and repeats across the whole field without a break, so the eye reads texture first and pattern second. At center sits a diamond medallion with a black outline and a camel-toned core carrying a 4 petal floral cross, set on a cream sub-field that itself is filled with the same lattice at a lighter value. Pendants extend above and below the medallion, two smaller cream cartouches sit left and right, and the 4 corners are closed with dark spandrels that let the medallion float. The main border is an ivory ground with large palmettes and curling acanthus scrolls, framed by a camel secondary band of rosette meanders and thin black and blue guard stripes, all held inside a solid red outer edge with plain ivory fringe.

A Brown Field Lit by Cream, Olive and Dark Red

Brown is the governing color of the field, a warm chocolate brown that pulls toward dark red where the light catches the silk and toward near black in the shadowed spandrels. Against it the lattice is picked out in cream and ivory flower heads, olive green leaves, muted slate blue rosettes and small touches of rust, so the ground never reads flat. The medallion works the opposite way: a pale cream and beige ground with a black cartouche at its heart, filled with camel, sage, brick and soft blue florals. The main border is the lightest element in the rug, a clean ivory that lifts the whole perimeter, with olive, brick red and blue-grey leafwork drawn over it and a camel band below. A solid dark red selvage line finishes all 4 sides. The overall effect is a warm, deep, layered palette that sits well on wood, on stone and on the grey tile shown in these photographs.

Made in India, Woven in the Mahi Tabriz Tradition

This rug was made in India, where most of the world's best contemporary hand-knotted weaving now happens, and it is worth saying plainly rather than dressing it up. Indian workshops took on the classic city drawings decades ago and the mahi layout is the one they execute best, because it rewards patience and an even hand more than improvisation. The back view shows a tight, regular knot with clear definition on every rosette, the pile is clipped low so the lattice stays legible, and the silk is used where it earns its keep rather than scattered everywhere. If you are weighing this against older city pieces, our guide on the difference between a Persian and an Oriental rug sets out what changes and what does not. What you get here is a brand new, never used rug with a dense handle, a lustrous surface and a design that will still look correct in thirty years.