9' x 11'10" Persian Heriz Rug | Jet Black Star Medallion | Ivory Spandrels | Excellent Condition

This is the Heriz that people picture when they say they want a red Persian rug: a brick red field, a jet black star medallion planted dead center, and ivory corners that throw the whole drawing into relief. At 9' x 11'10" it is a true room size piece, one of the most useful proportions in the house, and it sits comfortably among 9x12 Persian rugs without the compromises that usually come with a rug this large. The pile measures a full 3/8", even edge to edge, with no low spots, no repairs and clean selvages and fringes. Every rug we sell ships with a certificate of authenticity confirming the origin, the materials and the hand-knotted construction.

Design and Motifs

The center holds an 8 point star medallion in jet black, outlined twice in ivory and pink, with a small lobed rosette at its heart and long serrated leaves fanning out into each point. Above and below the medallion sit hooked pendants built from the same angular vocabulary, and the 4 corners are filled with ivory spandrels carrying palmettes, cypress forms and stiff blossoming stems. The open red ground between them is not empty: it is filled with detached vine scrolls, small rosettes, arrow leaves and tiny animal-like hooks, all drawn on the diagonal in the straight-line manner that defines geometric Persian rugs. The main border runs on a jet black ground with alternating ivory lozenge cartouches and rose palmettes, flanked by narrow olive and ivory guard stripes that finish the rug cleanly on all 4 sides.

Red, Ivory and Jet Black in the Wool

The field is a warm brick red that shifts toward tomato in full light and softens to a dusty rose where the light rakes across the pile, the gentle abrash you only get from small dye lots and hand-spun wool. Against it, the medallion and the border read as true jet black rather than a washed navy, which is what gives this rug its graphic punch. Ivory does the structural work, outlining the medallion and filling the spandrels so the red never runs flat. Look closer and the secondary palette opens up: cobalt and indigo blue in the leaves and blossoms, rose and salmon in the rosettes, olive green and soft gold in the vinework, with occasional touches of pale sky blue and camel. The overall effect is rich and saturated without being heavy, and it holds its own against both dark wood and painted white walls.

Woven in the Heriz Villages East of Tabriz

Heriz is a group of villages east of Tabriz, on the slopes below Mount Sabalan, and its reputation rests on two things: the water and the wool. Mineral-rich mountain water gives the fleece an unusually high lanolin content, and the resulting yarn is famously tough, which is why Heriz weaving survives generations of heavy traffic while finer city rugs wear thin. The weavers work from memory rather than a full cartoon, translating curved court designs into straight lines, stepped corners and bold angular shapes on a sturdy cotton foundation. The knotting here is firm and regular, the back is tight, and the pile is dense enough that the rug lies flat and heavy on the floor. That combination of durable wool, honest village drawing and room size scale is exactly why a Persian Heriz remains the most practical large rug you can buy.