9'10" x 13'2" Tabriz Mahi Design Rug | Burgundy Herati Fish Field | Wool & Silk, Made in India

This is a large, formal, hand-knotted room size rug measuring 9'10" x 13'2", woven in India in the classic Tabriz Mahi layout with a fine wool pile lifted by silk highlights on a cotton foundation. It has never been used, the pile stands full and even across all 4 corners, and the back photograph with the ruler shows how tightly and regularly the knots are packed, which is what gives the tiny Herati elements their clarity at this scale. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it is genuinely hand-knotted. If you are comparing this piece against other traditional weaves, our guide to what separates a Persian rug from an Oriental rug explains where contemporary Indian workshop weaving sits, and you can see the rest of our 10x13 Oriental rugs alongside it.

Design and Motifs

The drawing follows the Mahi formula exactly: an all over Herati fish lattice covering the entire field, a scalloped central medallion, 2 slender pendants running north and south of it, and matching quarter medallions filling the 4 corners. The Herati unit repeats in small diamond compartments, each holding a rosette flanked by the curved lanceolate leaves that give the pattern its fish name, and the repeat is held perfectly straight down the length of the rug. The medallion itself is built in layered scalloped rings, cream on the outer lobes and stepping down to a dark cored cartouche at the very center, which the close-up photograph shows carries its own miniature Herati repeat rather than an empty ground. The main border runs a cream band of linked palmettes, 8 petal rosettes and split arabesque vinework, framed by narrow floral guard stripes and finished with a plain red outer edge and clean white cotton fringe.

Color Palette

Burgundy is the governing color, reading as a deep wine red across the field and shifting toward a warm mauve brown where the light catches the silk highlights in the lattice. Against it, the medallion, spandrels and main border are worked in cream and soft ivory, which is what makes the layout legible from across a room. Inside the small Herati compartments the weavers used a large secondary palette in very small doses: brick red, tan, sandy beige, soft pink, sage and olive green, muted blue and charcoal black outlines that sharpen every rosette and leaf. The corner spandrels are noticeably darker, almost black brown, and they anchor the 4 corners of the composition. The border ground carries pale gray green and straw tones with terracotta and deep red rosettes, and the plain burgundy outer edge with its white fringe closes the whole scheme.

Origin and Weaving Quality

This rug was made in India, and that is a mark in its favor rather than a compromise. India is where most of the world's best contemporary hand-knotted work is now produced, and the leading workshops there weave the historic Tabriz Mahi cartoon with real discipline: a taut cotton warp and weft, a short even clip that keeps the tiny Herati elements crisp, and a wool selection good enough to take the fine detail without blurring. Silk is used sparingly as highlight, so the surface has a quiet sheen in the medallion and lattice instead of a glassy shine. At 9'10" x 13'2" this is a serious floor covering for a large living room, a formal dining room or a great room, and because it is new and never used you get the full pile height and the complete working life of the rug ahead of you.