9'6" x 12'11" Persian Herati Rug | Navy Blue All Over Fish Design | Semi-Antique

This semi-antique Persian rug measures 9'6" x 12'11", which puts it squarely in the most useful of all the large formats and makes it a direct fit for buyers shopping 10x13 Persian rugs. The whole field is covered in the classic Herati pattern, the repeating lattice of rosettes and curved leaves that Persian weavers call the fish design, drawn here in salmon, brick and ivory over a deep navy blue ground. A single small diamond medallion with ivory hooked finials sits dead center, and the open ivory corner panels carry their own lattice of palmettes. The wool pile stands a short, even 3/8" with no bare spots or edge loss, the navy overcast selvedges are intact, and the ivory fringe is clean on both ends. Condition is excellent, and the rug ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it as a hand-knotted Persian piece.

Design and Motifs

The drawing is pure Herati. A fine diagonal lattice divides the navy ground into diamonds, each one holding a small rosette flanked by a pair of curved lanceolate leaves, the detail that earned the pattern its fish nickname, with 8 petal rosettes and tiny star flowers alternating at the lattice joints. Because the repeat never breaks, the field reads as a true all over design rather than a medallion layout, and the large diamond outline that frames the center is suggested in a single thin salmon line instead of a heavy cartouche. The small ivory-edged medallion at the middle is filled with the same lattice in reverse, salmon ground under navy and teal flowers, and sends out a hooked finial to each of the 4 directions. Ivory spandrels close off the field corners with a more open scrolling vine. Framing it all is a wide brick red main border of linked palmettes and rosettes, braced by a zigzag ribbon stripe and several narrow floral guard stripes that step the eye out to the navy edge.

A Navy Blue Field With Salmon and Red

The field is a dark indigo navy blue, deep enough to read nearly black in low light and showing the gentle tonal movement in the dye that comes from hand-dyed wool. Against it the lattice flowers are worked in salmon, soft coral and tomato red, with ivory and cream rosettes scattered through the repeat to keep the pattern legible from across a room. The center medallion is the warmest note in the rug, a clear orange-salmon ground carrying dark teal, pine green and ivory flowerheads outlined in black. The main border shifts to a true brick red, and the corner panels are ivory to oatmeal with blue-green and rust florals. Running through the guard stripes are the small accent colors that make the palette interesting: teal, slate blue, pale apricot and charcoal brown. The selvedge is overcast in navy and the fringe is natural ivory. Overall the rug sits in the red and navy family that suits dark wood, leather and warm plaster walls, warmer and more orange-leaning than a cool blue Persian rug.

Persian Origin and Weaving Quality

The Herati pattern takes its name from Herat and has been woven across Persia for centuries, adopted by the northwestern villages and the central town workshops alike because it scales beautifully to room-size rugs and never looks empty. This piece is a Persian town weave: cotton warps and wefts carry a tightly packed wool pile, the knotting is regular enough to hold the small lattice flowers crisply across nearly 13 feet of length, and the wool itself has the slight natural sheen of good highland fleece. The back shows a firm, even handle with straight sides and squared corners, which is why the rug lies flat without a pad fighting it. At 3/8" the pile is short by design rather than worn down, the way a semi-antique Persian rug looks once it has settled: dense underfoot, easy to vacuum, and with decades of service still in it. Buyers who want to read the knot structure themselves can see it clearly in the reverse photograph taken alongside the tape measure.