8'9" x 13'8" Persian Moud Rug | Ivory Mahi Fish Design | Dense Low Wool Pile

This 8'9" x 13'8" Persian Moud takes the classic Mahi drawing and sets it on an ivory ground that reads almost silver in daylight, with a brick red surround pushing the scalloped medallion forward. The pile is a dense 3/8" wool clipped low, which is exactly how a Mahi rug should be finished: the repeating motifs are tiny, and only a short, tight pile keeps each one legible. Condition is excellent, with even pile from end to end, clean ivory selvages and full original fringe, and the rug ships with our certificate of authenticity. Among large Persian rugs this is a genuine room-size piece, holding a 9x14 footprint with one continuous field and no break in the pattern.

Design and Motifs

Mahi means fish, and the name comes from the unit that repeats across the whole field: a small diamond lattice holding a rosette, flanked by 4 curved lanceolate leaves that the weavers read as fish circling a pool. Here that all-over Herati lattice runs edge to edge without interruption, continuing straight through the ivory centre and into the red surround so the pattern never resets. A scalloped medallion sits at the middle, built from a rayed sunburst of fine spikes around an 8 petal rosette, with tall lantern pendants above and below it. The 4 corner spandrels carry curling split-leaf palmettes on ivory, and the main navy border is drawn with alternating diamond rosettes and vase-like palmette clusters joined by a thin vine, framed on both sides by ivory and camel guard stripes of small flowerheads. It is a disciplined, formal layout, drawn by a cartoon and executed knot for knot.

Ivory, Brick Red and Navy Colour Detail

The centre field is a warm ivory, closer to unbleached cream than white, and the lattice over it is picked out in madder red, soft sea green, sky blue, camel and a deep indigo outline that gives every motif a crisp edge. Around the medallion the ground turns to a brick red that photographs lighter in overhead daylight and deeper at floor level, so the rug shifts pleasantly through the day. Green appears only in the small rosettes and fish leaves, which is what keeps the palette lively rather than flat. The main border is a saturated navy, a strong stop against the ivory guard stripes, and the border flowers introduce touches of rose pink, saffron and pale blue. Ivory selvages and fringe close the piece off cleanly at both ends.

Moud Weaving in Khorasan

Moud is a small weaving town in the Khorasan province of northeastern Persia, near Birjand, and its looms are known for one thing above all: the finest Mahi work outside the great city workshops. Moud weavers build on a cotton foundation, knot at a high density for a village and clip the wool very short, which is the combination that lets a motif this small survive on a rug this large. The wool is highland fleece with a natural sheen that comes up as the pile settles. Measured across 8'9" of width, the lattice rows stay square and the medallion sits true on both axes, a good indicator of a well-drawn cartoon and steady tension on the loom. This is the sort of weave that stays serviceable for generations under furniture and foot traffic.