9'10 x 13'1 Persian Tabriz Rug | Red Field | Navy Medallion with Ivory Corners | Semi-Antique Wool on Cotton

This is a classic semi-antique 10 x 13 Persian Tabriz rug in the quintessential red and navy palette that defines the finest Tabriz city workshop weaving. Approximately fifty years old, it has been carefully stored and never used, arriving in truly exceptional condition with full pile and crisp drawing throughout. The rug is hand-knotted in wool on a cotton foundation at roughly 220 to 240 knots per square inch, giving it the precise curvilinear definition Tabriz is known for. At nearly ten by thirteen feet, this is a proper large room anchor, ideal for formal living rooms, dining rooms, family rooms, and gracious entry foyers where it can carry the full weight of the composition.

Please note that any waves, shadows, or wrinkles visible in some of the photographs are simply the result of the rug being folded and stored on pallets during transit. They are not permanent and will completely flatten out within a few days of being laid on the floor. We also professionally iron every rug before shipment to ensure it arrives in the best possible condition.

Design and Motifs

The composition is anchored by a shaped navy medallion at the center of the field, lobed and crowned with pendant finials that extend upward and downward into the red ground. The medallion carries a finely drawn eight-petal floral rosette at its core, worked in ivory, teal green, red, and soft gold, surrounded by inner palmettes and curling leaves. Four ivory quarter medallion spandrels anchor the corners, each filled with its own palmette and vine work that mirrors the central drawing. The red field between medallion and corners is covered edge to edge with a dense and elegant floral vocabulary of Shah Abbas palmettes, rosettes, curling serrated leaves, small buds, and sinuous vine tracery, drawn with the precision only a dedicated Tabriz workshop can produce. The navy main border carries a grand floral vine with alternating rosettes and palmettes, framed by narrow soft gold guard stripes with their own floral repeat.

Colors and Placement

The field reads as a rich deep red, warm and saturated, sitting somewhere between crimson and ruby depending on the light. Against that ground, the navy medallion and navy main border create a strong classic contrast, with the ivory corner spandrels and inner medallion core lifting the composition and keeping it from feeling heavy. The soft gold guard stripes bring warmth and act as a visual bridge between the red field and the navy border. Throughout the floral work you will find pale pink, coral, sky blue, powder blue, teal green, olive green, burgundy, and small accents of pale yellow, giving the rug its full chromatic richness without ever breaking from the classical red and navy framework. This is a rug that will work beautifully in traditional, transitional, and even contemporary interiors that want a single grand traditional anchor, pairing naturally with dark wood furniture, warm neutrals, navy upholstery, and classic millwork.

Tabriz Rugs and Construction

Tabriz is a historic city in northwestern Iran, in East Azerbaijan, and one of the most important rug-weaving centers in the entire Persian tradition, with a weaving heritage reaching back to the Safavid court workshops of the sixteenth century. Tabriz is especially known for its precise curvilinear drawing, its disciplined use of wool pile on cotton foundation, and its wide design vocabulary, from classical medallion formats like this one to pictorial and garden compositions. The rug is hand-knotted entirely by hand, knot by knot, and the semi-antique age has given the wool a soft, settled patina while the pile remains full and the colors are clear and vivid. Rugs like this represent the mature, classical Tabriz tradition at its most recognizable, and they only become more desirable with time as authentic older production from this period becomes harder to source.