9'9" x 13'5" Persian Josheghan Rug | All Over Herati Fish Design | Diamond Medallion | Excellent Condition

This is a full room size Persian Josheghan, hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation and measuring 9'9" x 13'5", one of the most usable proportions in the house and a natural fit for buyers shopping 10x13 Persian rugs. The pile stands a full 3/8" and the wool still has its oil and sheen, with no sign of traffic, no repairs and no low spots anywhere across the field. The drawing is classic Josheghan village work: a dense Herati lattice running corner to corner, a small stepped diamond medallion holding the center, and a wide indigo border that frames all 4 sides without crowding the field. Every rug we ship leaves Freeport with a certificate of authenticity that records the origin, the materials, the size and the hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

The field is a true all over Herati pattern, the mahi or fish design, built from a diamond lattice with a rosette at each intersection and 4 curved lanceolate leaves turning around it like fish circling a pond. The weaver alternated ivory, blue and rust rosettes so the lattice reads as a shimmering grid rather than a flat repeat, and the small cross shaped stars set between the diamonds keep the eye moving. At the center sits a compact stepped diamond medallion outlined in ivory latch hook, filled with indigo and sky blue palmettes and anchored by a single gold rosette at its heart. The same diamond geometry is echoed in the large open spandrels at each end of the field and again in the 4 corners, where the Herati repeat shifts to a lighter blue ground. The main border carries a bold turtle palmette and vine scroll in indigo, flanked by narrow guard stripes of running flowerheads and a fine sawtooth ribbon that ties the whole composition together.

The Orange Red Field and Deep Blue Borders

The ground is an orange red, closer to tomato and terracotta than to burgundy, a warm madder tone that photographs slightly brighter under showroom light and settles into a deeper brick in a room with north facing windows. Against it the weaver worked a full palette: indigo and midnight navy in the medallion and border, a clear sky blue in the corner panels and in the leaves of the Herati repeat, chalky ivory in the rosettes and guard stripes, plus small strikes of bottle green, saffron gold and soft coral that only show up when you stand over the rug. The selvage and the outer edge finish in a strong clean red that squares the rug off. Because the orange and rust tones sit beside so much blue, the rug carries warm and cool furnishings equally well, from walnut and leather to painted cabinetry and pale oak floors.

Josheghan Weaving in Central Persia

Josheghan is a small weaving town in central Persia, set in the hills between Kashan and Isfahan, and its looms have been running on the same vocabulary of diamond lattices and stylized floral repeats for centuries. The weave here is village work in the best sense: a firm double wefted cotton foundation, tight straight rows, a heavy wool pile and vegetable toned dyes that age gracefully instead of washing out. Josheghan pieces are built for daily life rather than for display, which is why a rug this size holds its shape under furniture and takes a dining table without crushing. Knot density in this class of weaving sits below the fine city workshops of Isfahan or Nain by design, since the coarser gauge is what gives the rug its weight, its body and its long service life. This one has never been used, and the wool is dense enough underfoot that it will outlast almost anything else in the room.