8' x 9'10" Oriental Rug | Burgundy & Navy Floral Medallion | Fine Wool, Never Used

This is a finely drawn, hand-knotted Oriental rug in a classic burgundy and navy floral medallion layout, measuring 8' x 9'10" and never placed on a floor. The wool pile is clipped low so the small flowers and thin vines stay crisp, and the weave is tight enough that the drawing holds its shape right through the corners, which is where cheaper work usually falls apart. At just under 10 feet long it covers a seating group or a table with chairs pulled out, and it sits comfortably with our other 8x10 rugs in scale. Every rug we ship leaves with a certificate of authenticity recording size, material, weave and origin.

Design and Motifs

The center holds a round ivory medallion with a small rose rosette at its heart, ringed by pale blue and rose blossoms on a fine scrolling stem. That disc floats on a dark navy cushion edged by large curling acanthus leaves in peach and cream, with matching leaf clusters running out to the top and bottom pendants. The 4 corner spandrels repeat the same navy ground and the same broad curling leaves, so the eye reads a clear medallion and corner layout even from across the room. Between medallion and border the burgundy field is filled edge to edge with a delicate all-over vine carrying carnations, open roses, small 5 petal blossoms and slim serrated leaves, none of it crowded. The main border is navy with a continuous acanthus and palmette scroll, framed on both sides by ivory guard stripes of red and blue flower heads on a thin meandering stem, and finished with plain cotton fringe.

The Burgundy, Navy and Ivory Palette

The field is a deep wine burgundy, closer to oxblood than to bright red, and it reads as a warm dark ground rather than a loud one. Against it the border and medallion cushion are a very dark navy that goes almost black in low light and opens up to true blue where the light hits it, as you can see in the corner photograph. The drawing itself is carried in soft peach and salmon for the big leaves, clean ivory and cream for the blossoms and guard borders, and rose pink for the flower centers. Scattered through the field are cornflower and slate blue petals, sage and olive green leaves, and small brick red buds, which keep the burgundy from going flat. The overall effect is a formal, slightly antiqued palette that works with mahogany and walnut furniture, cream walls and dark leather, and it hides household traffic far better than an ivory ground rug.

Woven in China in the Traditional Oriental Manner

This rug was hand-knotted in China, where workshops have spent decades weaving classical floral patterns to a high standard for the export market, and the quality here is at the upper end of that work. The back photograph, taken with a ruler laid across the weave, shows small, evenly packed knots and straight, tightly beaten wefts with no gaps or slack rows, which is what allows the vine work and the thin flower stems to be drawn cleanly instead of blocked out in steps. The pile is wool on a cotton foundation, sheared low and even, with a dry handle that will bloom slightly once the rug has been walked on and cleaned. Selvedges are tight and the ends are flat and secure, so the rug lies down properly from the first day. As a brand new, never used piece, it has its full pile height and its full working life still ahead of it.