9'6" x 13'2" Persian Kashan Rug | Ivory Medallion on Red Field | Excellent Condition

This is the classic central Persian formula done properly: a deep red field, a cream and navy lobed medallion floating in the center, and four heavy corner spandrels that frame it. At 9'6" x 13'2" it is a true room size piece that fills a formal living room or a large dining room under a 10 seat table, which puts it squarely in the most searched-for proportion of 10x13 Persian rugs. The pile is a full 3/8" of hand-spun wool on a cotton foundation, still even from end to end, with no low spots and tight, original ends and sides as shown in the back photo. Every Persian Kashan rug we sell ships with our certificate of authenticity, which records the origin, materials, knotting and measurements for insurance and appraisal purposes.

Design and Motifs

The drawing is a layered medallion and corner composition, the design Kashan weavers have refined for generations. At the very center sits a small red cartouche holding an 8 petal rosette, ringed by an ivory lobed frame, then a stepped navy halo studded with blue and rose blossoms, so the medallion reads as three nested shapes rather than one flat shield. Out from it the red field is filled edge to edge with curling arabesque vines, serrated saz leaves, open palmettes and small cypress-like sprays, drawn with the curved line that separates workshop weaving from village work. The field itself is outlined by a scalloped ivory contour that gives the medallion a visual cradle, and the 4 corner spandrels repeat the same vine work on a dark ground with ivory cloudband cartouches. Three border systems hold the whole thing: a wide main border of linked palmettes and rosettes, flanked inside and out by light blue floral guard stripes, with a narrow meander at the outer edge. The repeats are consistent all the way around the rug and the corners resolve correctly, which is the detail collectors check first.

Color: Red Field, Ivory Medallion, Navy and Light Blue Borders

The field is a warm madder red that photographs slightly differently depending on the angle of the light, a natural abrash that gives the surface depth instead of a flat printed look. Against it the medallion core and spandrel cartouches are a soft cream ivory, almost oyster, and that ivory is what carries your eye to the center of the room. The main border ground is a deep navy that shades toward aubergine in places, and the floral work inside it is picked out in rose pink, brick red, pale sky blue, soft gold and ivory. The two guard stripes are a distinctly lighter blue, closer to a dusty teal, and they act as a bright seam between the dark border and the red field. Scattered through the field you will also find touches of olive green, caramel and gray-blue in the leaves. The outer selvage is finished in red and the fringe is natural ivory cotton. This colorway sits comfortably with mahogany and walnut furniture and with cream or oatmeal walls, and it belongs with the red and burgundy Persian rugs that anchor traditional rooms.

Kashan: The Town and the Weave

Kashan sits in central Persia, north of Isfahan on the edge of the desert, and its weaving pedigree runs straight back to the Safavid court workshops. What the town is known for is the combination of soft, lustrous local wool and a disciplined, repeatable drawing style: red field, navy lobed medallion, ivory spandrels, dense floral fill. That formula is so recognizable that most people have seen it without knowing the name. When you watch Shark Tank there is a Persian Kashan on the floor. This piece shows the traits a dealer looks for in the type: a fine, even knot across the full 9'6" width, no drift in the medallion placement over 13'2" of length, crisp outlining in a single ivory knot line, and wool that still has oil and sheen in the pile after years of careful use. The back photograph shows the regular, tightly packed knot rows and the original cotton fringe, both signs the rug was woven in a town workshop rather than rushed on a village loom.