Moud Rugs

Moud is a village near Birjand in south Khorasan, and it gives its name to one of the most consistently well-made rugs in Iran. If you want a fine Persian rug that is quiet rather than showy, this is usually the answer.

The drawing is almost always Herati: an all-over lattice of rosettes and curved leaves, repeated across the field at a small scale, with curvilinear corner pieces and often a restrained star or diamond medallion at the centre. Grounds are ivory, cream or a soft blue, with navy and madder used for the drawing and small quantities of silk worked in to lift the highlights.

Construction is the reason the trade rates them. A cotton foundation, a fine and very regular knot, and a short dense pile of good Khorasan wool produce a rug that lies dead flat, wears slowly and evenly, and keeps its drawing crisp for decades. Moud rugs come in every size from small mats to palace formats, and because the pattern is all-over rather than centred, large ones can be placed under furniture without losing their composition.