9' x 12'6" Persian Sarough Rug | Coral Red Floral Medallion | Semi-Antique, Excellent Condition

This is a room size Persian Sarough rug of the type dealers quietly keep for themselves: a semi-antique piece that has been used gently, cleaned properly and still carries a full, even 3/8" wool pile from end to end. At 9' x 12'6" it lands in the most requested large band on the floor, so if you have been comparing 9 x 12 Persian rugs for a main living space, this one covers the footprint with 6 extra inches of length to spare. The back photograph shows a tidy, tight cotton foundation with clearly legible knot rows and no repairs, patches or re-weaves. Every rug we ship travels with a certificate of authenticity confirming that it is hand-knotted, its origin and its materials.

Design and Motifs

The drawing is classic curvilinear Sarough work. A large lobed medallion floats at center, ringed by serrated leaves and finished top and bottom with a stepped pendant finial. Around it the field runs as a continuous system of scrolling vines, split palmettes, 8 petal rosettes and small blossom sprays, all drawn with the rounded, flowing line that separates workshop Sarough weaving from the angular village tradition. The 4 corner spandrels repeat the medallion's vocabulary in miniature so the layout reads as one composition rather than a motif dropped onto a background. The main border carries a bold turtle palmette and arabesque chain, framed by narrow guard stripes of running blossoms and a reciprocal saw-tooth minor band. Detail shots show how carefully the outlines are drawn: each vine is worked in 2 or 3 tones so the scrollwork lifts off the field instead of flattening into it.

Colors: Coral Red Orange, Ivory and Slate Blue

The field is a warm coral toned red orange, brighter and more tomato than a Kashan brick red, with just enough abrash to show that the wool took the dye naturally. Against it the medallion is built in soft slate blue and powder blue with an ivory heart, which pulls the eye straight to the center of the room. Ivory and cream do the structural work throughout, outlining vines, filling the larger palmettes and lighting the corner spandrels. The main border reverses everything into deep navy that reads almost aubergine under lamplight, so the red field is contained by a dark frame rather than bleeding into the floor. Grace notes of sage green, rose pink and a pale gold appear in the individual flower heads and leaf tips. The wool has taken on the light sheen that only comes with age and use, and the color shifts noticeably between daylight and evening.

Sarough Weaving in Central Persia

Sarough is a village in the Markazi province of central Persia, just north of Arak, at the heart of the region that also gave us Mahal and Sultanabad weaving. Sarough built its name on 2 things: heavy, springy highland wool and a disciplined workshop standard that kept the curvilinear floral drawing accurate across a full room size loom. The weave here is firm and close, on a cotton warp and weft, with a moderately thick pile that has worn evenly rather than thinning at the ends. That combination is exactly why Sarough rugs of this generation are still on floors decades later while lighter contemporary pieces have been replaced twice. Lay this one in a formal living room or under a dining table and it will take the traffic without complaint.