9'7" x 13'9" Persian Isfahan Rug | Red Allover Floral with Navy Border | Wool & Silk, 1980s

This rug came out of a 1980s workshop in central Persia and has reached us in perfect condition, with the full 1/4" wool and silk pile standing evenly from fringe to fringe. At 9'7" x 13'9" it sits squarely in the 10x14 Persian rugs range, large enough to carry a formal room on its own and drawn finely enough to hold up when you walk right to the edge of it. If you want the background on how these pieces are designed and graded, our guide to Persian Isfahan rugs covers it in detail. A certificate of authenticity is issued with the rug and travels with it to the buyer.

Design and Motifs

The field is a true allover floral, not a plain ground with a medallion dropped on it. Scrolling vines run corner to corner carrying palmettes, serrated leaves and 8 petal rosettes, each blossom outlined so it reads cleanly against the red. At the center sits a navy star medallion with an ivory rosette at its core and a pendant finial above and below, and the same navy and ivory drawing returns as arabesque spandrels in all 4 corners of the field. The main border is a wide navy band of alternating flower sprays and curling palmettes, framed on both sides by ivory guard stripes carrying a small running blossom meander, with a narrow outer stripe closing the composition. The balance is what gives it away as workshop drafted work: the vine never collides with the border, and the corners resolve properly instead of being cut short.

A Closer Look at the Colors

The ground is a madder-toned red that softens toward rose where the light catches the silk, which is exactly what buyers of red Persian rugs look for in an older piece. Against it, the drawing works in ivory and soft cream, with light blue and a deeper teal picking out leaves and single blossoms, and warm gold and saffron used sparingly inside the flower heads. The border is a dark navy, close to indigo black in the corner shots, which pushes the red field forward and keeps a room of this scale from feeling washed out. Small notes of chocolate brown, olive green and a clear rose pink appear inside the border flowers and the guard stripes. The silk content is used for highlights rather than whole motifs, so the pile shifts in tone as you cross the room and the ivory vinework lifts and dims with the angle.

Isfahan Weaving and Quality

Isfahan sits in central Persia and has been a weaving center since the Safavid court workshops of the 16th century. Its reputation rests on drawing: the curved line, the flowing vine and the precision of the outlines, none of which is possible without a high knot count on a tight cotton foundation. This piece follows that tradition, with wool pile lifted by silk highlights and a low 1/4" clip that keeps the fine detail legible rather than blurring it under long pile. The ruler photograph is there so you can judge the weave and the scale of the border motifs for yourself. Forty years on, the pile is full, the selvedges are intact and the fringes are original, which tells you the rug was carefully made and carefully kept.