8'3" x 12' Persian Kashan Rug | Classic Ivory Lobed Medallion on Red Field | Excellent Condition

This is the textbook version of the formula that made Persian Kashan rugs the most copied city design in the world: a deep red field, one ivory lobed medallion on axis, and a near-black navy border holding it all in. Hand-knotted in central Persia with a 3/8" wool pile on a cotton foundation, it measures 8'3" x 12', which is the size that actually fits a 10 or 12 seat table or a full seating group without the furniture crowding the border. The pile is even end to end, the selvedges are intact, the ivory fringe is clean, and the condition is excellent with no repairs or restoration to disclose. It sits comfortably in the practical end of large Persian area rugs, and it ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it as a genuine hand-knotted Persian Kashan.

Design and Motifs

The center holds a lobed ogival medallion on an ivory ground, with a small cruciform rosette and 4 blue petals at the exact midpoint, ringed by a navy cartouche band and finished top and bottom with slender pendants. The 4 corners carry quartered spandrels in the same navy, each filled with ivory and gold vinework so the eye reads the medallion shape twice, once in the middle and once at the edges. Between them the field is not plain for a single inch: curling palmettes, serrated lanceolate leaves, 8 petal rosettes and split arabesque vines run in a mirrored allover scheme, drawn in the fluid curvilinear line that separates a city workshop from village work. The main border is a navy palmette and vine meander, flanked on both sides by narrow teal guard stripes with repeating blossoms, then an outer rose and tan vine stripe that frames the whole piece and keeps the dark border from reading heavy.

Color Palette in Detail

The field is a true tomato red that shifts with the light, reading cherry when the nap runs toward you and softening to a rose cast when it runs away, which is normal abrash behavior in good wool and one of the reasons these red Persian rugs never look flat. Against it the main border is a navy so deep it reads nearly black at a distance, which is what gives the red its punch. The medallion and spandrels are ivory to cream with warm gold and soft camel shading, and the drawing inside them is picked out in slate blue, moss green and a dusty rose. Two teal guard borders cool the whole frame down, the outer stripe is a tan and rose brown, and small touches of pale blue, terracotta and dark brown appear in the field blossoms. The fringe is natural ivory at both ends, and the overall effect is rich rather than loud: formal, warm, and easy to build a room around with cream walls or dark wood.

Kashan Origin and Weaving Quality

Kashan sits in central Persia, north of Isfahan, and its looms trace back to the Safavid court workshops that set the standard for curvilinear medallion drawing. The town is known for soft lustrous local wool and for repeating one formula to perfection: red field, navy lobed medallion, ivory spandrels. It is also the design most Americans have seen without knowing it, because when you watch Shark Tank there is a Persian Kashan on the floor. The reverse of this piece, shown against a ruler, is tight and regular with a firm handle and clearly defined knot rows, which is what lets the fine vine work hold its curve at this scale. The 3/8" pile is substantial enough for a dining room or a busy living room, and a well woven Kashan on a cotton foundation of this quality is a 50 year rug under normal household use.