1'3" x 2' Persian Tabriz 60 Raj Rug | Hebrew and Farsi Home Blessing | Silk Letters on Wool | Poshti

This extraordinary Persian Tabriz Poshti is one of the rarest categories of hand knotted rug that exists: a fine 60 Raj Tabriz woven with Hebrew and Farsi inscriptions bearing the traditional Jewish home blessing from Deuteronomy 28:6. The Hebrew text reads "Baruch Atah B'voecha" and "Uvaruch Atah B'tzetecha," meaning "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out." The same blessing is rendered in Farsi script "Mobarak bashi dar waqt-e dakhil shodan" first line and "Va mobarak bashi dar waqt-e khaarij shodan" second line. between the Hebrew lines, creating a bilingual piece that speaks directly to the rich history of the Persian Jewish community, one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. The letters are woven in lustrous red-orange silk pile against a matte teal wool ground, producing a dramatic contrast between the two materials that is immediately visible. The rug has been professionally mounted on a leather backing with gold stitching, ready to be displayed as a wall piece or placed flat.

Design and Inscription

The composition is entirely typographic and calligraphic, with no geometric or floral motifs. The teal wool ground serves as a pure canvas for the text. Two lines of large bold Hebrew characters occupy the upper and lower halves of the field, each followed by a line of smaller flowing Farsi Naskh script that translates the same blessing. The Hebrew letterforms are rendered with remarkable precision for a hand knotted piece at this scale, with each character clearly legible and correctly formed. The border is simple and restrained, consisting of a narrow gold inner line and a wider ivory and peach outer band, allowing the inscriptions to command complete visual attention. Ivory cotton fringe runs across the top and bottom ends of the piece.

Colors and Materials

The ground is a deep teal blue-green in wool pile, a serene and dignified tone that was almost certainly chosen deliberately to give the inscriptions maximum legibility and visual weight. The Hebrew and Farsi letters are knotted in red-orange silk, and the contrast between the matte wool ground and the luminous silk letters is striking both in person and in photographs. The silk pile of the letters catches light differently from the wool ground depending on viewing angle, giving the calligraphy a quality that changes as you move around the piece. The border introduces ivory and warm peach tones that frame the composition softly without competing with the inscriptions. The leather backing is dark brown with gold chain-stitch edging, adding a refined presentation quality to the piece.

Origin, Construction and Significance

Tabriz is the capital of East Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran and one of the oldest and most technically accomplished rug weaving centers in the world. The 60 Raj designation refers to the knot density measured in Raj, a traditional Iranian unit: at 60 Raj, this piece contains approximately 400 to 500 knots per square inch, placing it firmly in the fine to very fine category of Tabriz production. The cotton foundation and wool-silk pile combination are characteristic of quality Tabriz work. The piece is identified on the reverse with label number 6292 and dimensions 62 x 40 cm, consistent with a Poshti format. Poshti rugs of this type were produced for the Persian Jewish community of Tabriz and Tehran, where Jewish families traditionally displayed such blessings at home entrances. As authentic handmade Persian rugs have grown rarer and the Persian Jewish diaspora has spread worldwide, pieces like this have become sought after as Judaica collectibles, family heirlooms, and unique gifts for Jewish homes, weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and housewarmings.