9'10" x 16'5" Persian Isfahan Rug | Red Floral Medallion | Signed Cartouche, Oversize

This is a big, serious floor piece: a Persian Isfahan rug measuring 9'10" x 16'5", hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation and signed by its weaver in a small cartouche set into the ivory guard border. The pile is even and full from end to end, the selvedges are tight, and the drawing holds its symmetry across almost 16 and a half feet of length, which is the hardest thing to do on a loom this wide. Pieces at this scale belong with oversize Persian rugs rather than standard room sizes, and they are far scarcer in this condition. A certificate of authenticity is included with every rug we ship.

Design and Motifs

The field is a classic Isfahan composition: a layered star medallion at center, built outward from a small rosette core through a ring of 8 points, then a navy cloud-band halo, then a ring of ivory and sky blue palmettes. From that center a dense all-over lattice of curling vine, split leaves and shaded palmettes fills the field to the scalloped ivory cartouche outline that frames the interior. The 4 corner spandrels repeat the ivory ground with their own arabesque scrollwork, giving the design a second frame inside the border. The main navy border runs a rhythm of alternating rosettes and palmettes joined by thin vinework, flanked on both sides by narrow floral guard stripes and a fine reciprocal edge. Every line is curvilinear rather than angular, which is the drawing tradition Isfahan is known for.

Color Palette

The ground reads as a true warm red, deep but clean, with the slight tonal movement in the pile that natural dye and hand-spun wool produce. Against it the main border sits in a dark indigo navy that anchors the whole piece and makes the red look richer than it would alone. The floral work carries the lighter voices: soft sky blue petals, cream and ivory outlines, ochre and gold, touches of rust and a scattering of rose pink in the medallion core. The spandrels and guard stripes are ivory, which lifts the corners and keeps a rug of this size from feeling heavy. Overall the balance is red and blue in roughly equal weight, with ivory doing the drawing and gold supplying the warmth.

Origin and Weaving Quality

Isfahan sits in central Persia and has been a weaving capital since the Safavid court workshops of the 16th century. Its reputation rests entirely on drawing: the curved line, the flowing vine, the precise repeat, none of which is possible without a high knot count and a disciplined workshop behind the loom. The back of this rug, shown against a ruler, is tight and regular, with small even knots on a cotton warp and weft and clear definition in every motif. The wool is soft-handled and lustrous, cut at a low even pile so the pattern stays crisp. That the weaver signed it in the border says the same thing a workshop mark says anywhere in Persia: someone was willing to attach a name to this piece and expected it to outlive them.