9'6" x 13' Persian Kashmar Zirkhaki Rug | Ancient Vessel Design | 1980s, Perfect Condition

This is a full-size Kashmar from the 1980s, woven in the Khorasan tradition of Persian Mashad rugs, and drawn in the pattern collectors know as Zirkhaki. At 9'6" x 13' it sits squarely in the 10x13 Persian rug range, the size that anchors a full seating group without crowding the walls. The wool pile is even and lustrous from edge to edge, the ends and sides are original and sound, and the piece has clearly been kept flat rather than walked hard. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming origin, materials and hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

Zirkhaki translates roughly as "under the soil", and the design does exactly what the name promises: it fills the field with antique vessels as though they had just been lifted out of an excavation. Count the shapes and you find footed bowls, lidded jars, ribbed amphorae, fluted columns and shallow dishes, each one drawn in a different palette so no two neighbours repeat. They are arranged in tidy horizontal ranks across the burgundy ground, linked by thin flowering vines, palmettes and small birds that appear in profile among the scrollwork. At the center sits an 8 point rosette medallion on a rust ground, ringed by cloud-band leaves and ivory outlined cartouches, with a matching quarter of the same medallion resolved in each of the 4 corners. The main border carries a blue ground with alternating leaf sprays and blossom clusters, framed by ivory guard stripes of running vine. It is a busy, storytelling composition, and the drawing stays disciplined even at the smallest vessel.

A Deep Burgundy Field Against Cobalt and Green

The field is a true burgundy, a deep cochineal-leaning red that photographs darker in the corners and opens up to a warm cherry tone where the light crosses the pile. Against it the weaver set two distinct blues: a dark navy that carries the main border and the vessel outlines, and a brighter cobalt used inside the jars, the medallion core and the leaf forms. Green does real work here, running from a soft pistachio in the vine leaves to a deep olive in the outlining, which is what keeps the reds and blues from reading flat. Ivory functions as the drawing pen, tracing every vessel rim, palmette and border cartouche so the pattern stays legible from standing height. Secondary notes of rust orange, rose pink, saffron and chocolate brown flicker through the smaller flowers and the medallion rays. The overall effect is jewel-toned and formal without being dark, and the color has held beautifully across the whole 13 foot length.

Kashmar, Khorasan, and the Quality of the Weave

Kashmar is a weaving town in Khorasan, in northeast Persia, a few hours south of Mashad, and its output is traditionally sold within the Mashad group. The region is known for long-staple, high-lanolin wool, which is why a 40 year old piece like this one still has sheen rather than a dry, chalky surface. The weave is on a cotton foundation with a symmetrical, workshop-consistent knot, dense enough to hold the fine outlines the Zirkhaki drawing demands and heavy enough in the hand to lie dead flat without a pad fighting it. The back photograph shows clean, straight rows and even selvages, with no color run and no repairs. Buyers who like the formal Khorasan aesthetic should also look through our wider selection of Persian Mashad rugs, where the same wool and the same palette appear in different drawings.