8'6" x 11'6" Wool and Silk Oriental Rug | Black Tabriz Design with Floral Medallion | New

A jet black field is the hardest ground to weave well, because every flower drawn on it has to carry its own outline, and this hand-knotted Oriental rug does it cleanly across all 8'6" x 11'6". The pile blends wool with silk, and you can see where the silk sits: the cream palmettes and the medallion core catch light at a different angle than the matte black around them. It is new, never used, with full pile, straight sides and hand-tied cotton fringe at both ends, and it sits comfortably in the practical 9x12 area rug range for a sofa group or a 8 seat table. Every rug we ship carries a certificate of authenticity confirming that it is genuinely hand-knotted, along with its measurements and materials.

Design and Motifs

The drawing follows the classic Tabriz workshop formula. At the center sits an 8 petal ivory rosette inside a lobed cream medallion, finished top and bottom with burgundy and cream pendants that reach into the field. Around it the black ground is filled with a continuous lattice of curving vines, cream and salmon rosettes, feathered acanthus leaves and small burgundy cartouches that repeat in mirrored pairs on all 4 quarters. Ivory spandrels close the corners of the field with the same vinework drawn in reverse, so the pattern reads as one composition rather than a field plus a frame. The border system runs 5 bands deep: a wide ivory main border of alternating palmettes and blossoms on a thin black vine, flanked by burgundy floral stripes and narrow ivory guards, with a plain black outer edge that squares the whole thing off. Curves stay curved and the vine never breaks, which is the test of this design.

The Black, Ivory and Burgundy Palette

The field is a true deep black, closer to ink than charcoal, with no blue cast, and it makes the rest of the palette look lit from within. Against it the flowers run through cream, warm ivory, sand and a soft salmon pink, with a few pale grey-blue blossoms scattered through the border for contrast. Burgundy does the structural work: it outlines the medallion pendants, fills the inner cartouches and forms the two floral stripes that separate the main border from the guards. Muted sage and olive green appear only in the leaves and leaf tips, enough to keep the ivory from going flat. The main border itself is a warm oatmeal ivory rather than a bright white, so the transition from black field to pale frame is gradual instead of harsh. Under lamplight the silk-blended highlights shift a shade lighter, which is most obvious across the medallion and the large border palmettes.

Origin and Weaving Quality

This piece is honestly made in China, woven to a Tabriz design by workshops that build these rugs on a cotton foundation with a tight, even knot and a clipped, low pile so the fine drawing stays legible. The back, visible in the folded corner, shows small regular knots and clear definition of every outline, which is what allows the curvilinear vinework and the 5 band border to hold their shape at this scale. Weight and handle are substantial without being stiff, the selvedges are firm, and the ends are secured and fringed in cotton. As a piece of contemporary hand-knotted work in a classic formal vocabulary, it gives you the look of a traditional workshop medallion rug in a brand new, unworn, full pile state at 8'6" x 11'6".