1'3 x 2 Persian Ardebil Baby Rug | Wool and Silk on Cotton | Stepped Medallion on Rust Field

This 1'3 x 2 Persian Ardebil baby rug is a hand-knotted wool and silk piece on a cotton foundation, woven at approximately 250 knots per square inch. A stepped geometric medallion on an ivory ground sits centered on a deep rust red field, with a pale blue eight-point star at its heart, cobalt cartouches above and below, and emerald leaf forms reaching outward. An ivory main border of small star rosettes frames the field, ivory corner spandrels carry cypress trees, vases and boteh, and silk highlights run through the medallion and floral detail to catch the light. Pieces this size were traditionally woven as master weaver samples and showpieces, never intended for floor use.

Design and Motifs

The composition is built around a single stepped geometric medallion drawn in the clear, angular manner Ardebil weaving is known for. Its ivory center holds a pale blue radiating star with a small red core, flanked by cobalt cartouches with orange accents, dark green leaf forms and gold starbursts at the sides. The rust field around it is filled with gold palmettes, blue rosettes and tiny floral sprays, while the ivory corner spandrels carry cypress trees, small vases and curled boteh that echo the tribal vocabulary of the northwest. The ivory main border repeats eight-point star rosettes in navy, maroon and gold, set off by twin sky blue guard borders dotted with orange squares. Every line is geometric and every motif balanced, with no curvilinear elements.

Colors and Placement

The palette pairs a warm rust red field with cool ivory in the medallion, spandrels and main border, lifted by sky blue and cobalt, deepened by navy, and brightened with emerald green, gold, orange and touches of mauve and brown. The silk passages in the medallion and florals shift in tone as the light moves across the surface. At 1'3 x 2 this works as a collectible piece, framed and displayed on a wall, set on a console or coffee table as a textile object, used as a chair seat cover, or given as a meaningful Persian rug gift. It is small enough to ship as a flat package and detailed enough to read clearly across a room when displayed.

Origin and Construction

Hand-knotted in Ardebil in northwest Persia, this rug is built on a cotton foundation with a wool and silk pile at approximately 250 knots per square inch. Ardebil is one of the oldest weaving centers in Persia and the source of the famous 16th century Ardabil carpet now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the city has continued producing rugs in distinctive geometric and stepped-medallion designs for centuries. Pieces at this scale are traditionally woven as master weaver samples, demonstration pieces or collector miniatures, never intended for floor use, and the construction reflects that with full silk fringes, crisp selvages and full unworn pile throughout.