9'7" x 13'1" Persian Herati Rug | All Over Mahi Fish Design on Navy Field | 1970s Excellent Condition

This is a room size Persian rug from the 1970s, hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation and drawn in the classic Herati idiom: no medallion, no central event, just a disciplined repeating lattice that runs corner to corner across a deep navy ground. At roughly 50 years old the pile is still full and even, the ends are secure, and the ivory cotton fringe is original, which puts it squarely in the condition bracket serious buyers look for. Pieces in this proportion sit naturally with other 10x13 Persian rugs, covering a full seating group or an eight chair dining table without crowding the walls. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming it is hand-knotted and Persian in origin.

Design and Motifs

The field carries the Herati pattern, also called mahi, the fish pattern, one of the oldest and most widely woven schemes in Persia. A diamond lattice is laid over the navy ground, each diamond holding a rosette at its center, and each junction flanked by 4 curved lancet leaves that early dealers read as fish circling a pond. The weaver has alternated rosette colors row by row, so sage, coral, ivory and teal flowers chase each other diagonally across the field and keep a strictly repeating all over design from ever looking mechanical. The main border is a deep red turtle palmette band, alternating shield shaped cartouches with ivory and navy palmettes separated by rosette clusters and small blossom sprays. Flanking it are paired guard stripes: a teal ground floral vine on each side, then narrow reciprocal sawtooth bands in ivory and red that frame the whole piece. All 4 corners resolve cleanly, which on a repeating lattice this long is the clearest tell of an experienced hand at the loom.

A Navy Field Against Deep Red and Ivory

The ground is a true dark navy, almost indigo black where the light falls away, and it does the heavy work of making every other color read brighter than it is. Against it the drawing is carried in coral and salmon red, soft peach, clean ivory and a warm beige, with rust brown in the smaller blossoms and a muted sage green appearing only in scattered rosette centers, which is exactly how the green accents noted in the specification show up on the floor. The main border shifts the balance completely, a deep brick red field that frames the cool navy center and pulls warmth back into the room, while the teal guard stripes bridge the two. Fine navy outlining separates every motif, so at close range the pattern stays crisp rather than muddy. Good wool shows its quality in how it takes light: in the raking shots the pile reads lighter where it leans away and deeper where it leans toward you, the gentle sheen you only get from well spun hand-knotted Persian wool rugs. The selvedges are overcast in matching navy and the fringe is bright ivory cotton.

Woven in Persia in the 1970s

The Herati pattern belongs to no single town; it travelled across Persia and was adopted by weaving centers from the northwest down through the central plateau, each giving it a slightly different weight of line. This piece is drawn in the firm, village workshop manner, geometric rather than curvilinear, with the lattice resolved in straight segments and the palmettes squared off at the shoulders, the kind of drawing that comes from a cartoon used repeatedly and known by heart. The weave is dense and regular, the back shows a tight even knot and a tidy cotton warp, and the pile has been clipped at a medium height that leaves the pattern legible without sacrificing the wool's body underfoot. That combination is why rugs like this one survive 50 years of use and still present with full pile: a sound cotton foundation, honest wool, and a design that hides the ordinary traffic of a busy household rather than advertising it.