9'10" x 13'8" Persian Kerman Rug, Medallion Floral, Crimson Red and Navy, Distressed Low Pile

This room-size Persian Kerman rug presents the classic Kerman medallion composition at a heavily discounted price of $850, reduced from its original $2,900 value, due to an area of distressed low pile described in detail below. The design, colors, and overall structure of the rug are fully intact and visually impressive, making this an outstanding opportunity for a buyer who appreciates authentic Persian craftsmanship at a fraction of typical market cost. Hand knotted in Kerman, Iran with a 100% wool pile on a cotton foundation, this rug displays the lush floral vocabulary and open field composition that Kerman has been celebrated for worldwide.

Design and Motifs

The composition centers on a large star-shaped navy blue medallion densely filled with ivory, powder blue, gold, and pink flowers arranged in a perfectly symmetrical radiating pattern. A soft powder blue oval halo surrounds the medallion, separating it from the open crimson field. Matching navy pendants extend above and below the central medallion along the vertical axis, anchoring the composition to the full length of the rug. Across the open red field, scattered ivory and powder blue floral bouquets, sprays, and scrolling acanthus vines are distributed in a naturalistic, airy arrangement that is characteristic of the Kerman open-field style. The border system consists of a wide navy main border densely filled with ivory, gold, and pink scrolling floral vine, framed by an ivory inner border with powder blue floral detail and a light blue halo inner border that mirrors the field surround.

Colors and Placement

The dominant ground color is a deep magenta crimson red, a vivid and warm tone that is one of the most recognizable characteristics of fine Kerman production. Against this ground the navy blue of the medallion and main border creates a strong and classic contrast, while the ivory and powder blue of the scattered field flowers add lightness and a romantic quality to the open areas of the field. Gold appears throughout the border vine and medallion detail, adding warmth and richness. Pink blossoms are scattered throughout both the field and border, softening the overall palette. The powder blue inner halo surrounding the medallion and the matching blue inner border give the rug a layered, luminous quality that shifts subtly as the viewing angle changes across the wool pile.

Kerman Rugs

Kerman is one of the great classical weaving cities of Iran, located in the Kerman province of southeastern Persia. The city has been producing rugs since at least the seventeenth century and became particularly renowned in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for its large room-size pieces featuring open fields, romantic floral designs, and exceptionally soft wool pile. Kerman rugs are woven with a wool pile on a cotton foundation using the asymmetric Persian knot, and are known for their characteristic lush, velvety pile height and the wide variety of colors in their palettes. This rug is a genuine Kerman, and despite the area of low pile described above, it retains all of the visual and structural qualities that make these rugs so enduringly desirable.