11'6" x 18'9" Persian Kerman Rug | Ivory Field Floral Medallion | Pre-Owned Excellent

This 11'6" x 18'9" Persian Kerman is an oversize formal rug in the classical Kerman vocabulary, hand-knotted in 100% wool on a cotton foundation in the workshop tradition of Kerman in southeastern Persia. The composition is built on a wide open ivory field with a single small detached medallion floating at the center, framed by a scalloped cloud-band cartouche and surrounded by a deeply drawn floral border in dusty rose, sky blue, and sage green. The piece is pre-owned and has been professionally washed, with no wear, no holes, no stains, and no damage. It reads as a piece of considerable age and patina with a contemporary cleanliness underfoot. For broader context on this weaving tradition, see the world of Persian rugs.

Design and Motifs

The design is one of the most refined in the Kerman repertoire. A small detached medallion sits at the visual center, drawn as a vertical stack of three connected cartouches in sky blue, dusty rose, and pale pink, filled with miniature palmettes, curling vines, and rosettes. Around the medallion the ivory field is left almost entirely open, which is a signature gesture of the Kerman tradition and what gives the rug its sense of light and space. The field is framed by a scalloped cloud-band cartouche, a continuous wave of small floral cells in sky blue and rose that softens the transition between the open field and the wide main border. The main border is densely drawn with floral cartouches and curling paisleys in deep blue, ivory, and pink on a multi-band structure, finished with a distinctive dusty rose secondary band closest to the field. The whole composition reads as drawing in pastels rather than declaration in saturated colors, which is what separates the Kerman tradition from the deeper red and navy palettes of Kashan or Mashad.

Colors and Placement

The palette is built around a soft warm ivory field, with the medallion and borders drawn in sky blue, dusty rose, pale pink, sage green, salmon, and accents of navy. The cool ivory ground reads beautifully in rooms with warm wood floors, brass or gold-toned hardware, and traditional or transitional furniture. At 11'6" x 18'9" this is a true oversize rug, sized for the rooms most American homes do not have and many estates do. It fits a formal dining room with a long twelve to fourteen seat table and all chairs comfortably on the rug, a great room with multiple sofa groupings, a grand foyer or ballroom, or a library or formal living room in a larger home. The open ivory field means that even with substantial furniture sitting on top, the rug never feels crowded or busy.

Origin and Construction

Kerman, also spelled Kirman, is one of the historic city-workshop centers of Persia, located in the southeastern province of the same name. The city has been a center of fine rug weaving for centuries, with a tradition reaching back to the Safavid period and a particular reputation for refined drawing, open-field compositions, and the pastel palette that defines the Kerman aesthetic. This piece is hand-knotted in 100% wool on a cotton foundation, with the asymmetric Persian knot, in the workshop style of mid-twentieth century Kerman production. It has been professionally washed and is in excellent pre-owned condition, ready to lay and live with. The selvages are intact, the fringes are clean, and there is no wear, holes, stains, or damage. For more on the wool, silk, and dye materials that define the construction quality of any Persian rug, see our complete guide to handmade rug materials.