9'9" x 12'10" Persian Herati Rug | Navy Blue Mahi Fish All-Over Design | Tomato Red Borders

This 9'9" x 12'10" Persian rug is hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation and carries the Herati pattern across its whole navy field, the repeating lattice Persian weavers know as mahi, or fish. There is no medallion and no open ground anywhere in the drawing: the lattice runs edge to edge and is held by a tomato red main border set between ivory guard stripes. The pile stands a full 3/8 inch, the dyes are still deep and clear, and the rug is in excellent condition with a straight, well-finished selvage and intact cotton fringe. It ships with our certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The Herati is one of the oldest repeating patterns in Persian weaving and one of the hardest to keep honest over a field this big. A fine diamond lattice divides the ground into compartments, each holding a small rosette, and every diamond is flanked by 4 curved lanceolate leaves that curl away from the flower head like fish circling it, which is where the name mahi comes from. Between them sit 8 petal rosettes, little star flowers and orange palmettes, so no two square feet look flat. The lattice lines up cleanly from end to end, a real test in an all-over pattern rug of this length. The main border answers with a reciprocal vine, hooked bracket forms and paired rosettes, the corners are resolved rather than cut off mid-motif, and two ivory guard stripes of meandering flower heads on each side keep the red band from crowding the field.

Color Palette: Navy Ground, Tomato Red Border, Orange Flowers

The field is an indigo navy that reads almost aubergine in places, a depth that only comes from hand-dyed yarn worked in small batches, and that plum cast is what makes the flowers on top glow. The rosettes and lattice work carry tomato red, rust orange and a clear pumpkin orange, with ivory and soft peach flower heads scattered through to lift the whole surface. Teal green leaves and small blue-green dots appear in the compartments and again in the guard stripes, and there are occasional touches of mustard gold in the inner border. The main border is a warm tomato red, drawn with navy and ivory outlines and small teal accents, framed by ivory stripes and closed by a dark navy outer edge. Buyers working around blue upholstery or dark wood will find it sits with the rest of our navy blue Persian rugs, though the orange in this one gives it more warmth than most.

Persian Origin and Weaving Quality

This rug was hand-knotted in Persia in the classic village and town workshop manner: cotton warps, wool wefts and a wool pile clipped low enough to keep the lattice crisp. The back photograph tells the story better than any claim, with even rows, consistent knot count from side to side, and no dip or bulge in the weave, which is what keeps a piece nearly 13 feet long lying flat. Rows of that regularity over a 9'9" width mean the loom stayed under control across years of work, not weeks. The wool has a dry, springy handle that takes light well and wears slowly, and the pile depth of 3/8 inch shows the rug has plenty of life left. No date cartouche was woven into the borders, so the piece is dated on its wool, dyes and weave rather than on paperwork, and our guide on how to date an Oriental rug walks through exactly the clues we look at.