3'8" x 5'11" Persian Isfahan Rug | Red Field Navy Star Medallion with Songbirds | Kork Wool and Silk on Silk
Look closely at the red field of this 3'8" x 5'11" rug and you start finding birds: small white songbirds tucked between the blossoms, perched on vines and facing each other in pairs. That level of detail is what you pay for in a fine Persian Isfahan, and this one delivers it everywhere, from the navy and sky blue star medallion to the ivory corners and the sand colored border. It is hand-knotted in kork wool and silk on a pure silk foundation at 580 to 600 knots per square inch, a tight, even weave that keeps every outline crisp. It is brand new and has never been used, and it comes with our certificate of authenticity.
Design and Motifs
The medallion is a 16 point star built in layers: pointed navy rays outlined in white, an inner ring of sky blue petals with small peach and red buds, and a tiny olive and red rosette at the very center. Feathery ivory leaves curl outward from its points, holding clusters of blue blossoms. Above and below, navy shield-shaped pendants with sky blue arabesques extend the medallion along the length of the rug. The red field is lobed at its edges, and at each end it rises into a small arched cartouche framed in blue scrollwork, with a red and ivory flower at its heart. Across the field, Shah Abbasi palmettes, blue lotus forms, sage leaves and fine navy vines are scattered with the songbirds, all mirrored with real precision. The 4 ivory spandrels are quieter and wonderfully detailed: long-tailed birds in brown, gold and copper perch among blue arabesques and blossoms. The main border has a soft sand ground, with navy and blue palmettes alternating with round blossoms and long grey-blue leaf forms. It sits between 2 navy guard stripes of taupe flower clusters and blue star flowers, and a thin red line runs along each edge.
The Colors: Cherry Red, Ivory and Navy
The field is a clear cherry red, rich but not dark, and evenly saturated from end to end. Ivory frames it in the spandrels, and a warmer sand tone fills the main border, so the rug steps from red to ivory to sand rather than ending in a hard dark edge. Navy, close to midnight, gives the drawing its backbone: it outlines the medallion, fills the pendants and runs through both guard stripes. Sky blue and royal blue are the brightest accents, lighting up the medallion and the blossoms all over the field, and the silk in the pile makes these blues shimmer when the light moves. The supporting tones are soft and varied: olive and sage in the leaves, copper and gold in the spandrel birds, peach and red in the medallion buds, taupe in the guard stripe clusters and a cool grey blue in the long border leaves. The fringe is the natural ivory of the silk foundation.
Isfahan Workmanship on a Silk Foundation
Isfahan, in central Persia, has set the standard for refined drawing since the Safavid court workshops of the 16th century, and the city's best weavers still work on a silk foundation for exactly that reason. Silk warps are thin and very strong, so knots can be packed tightly and the finished rug lies flat and square, with a back almost as clear as the front. Kork wool, the soft fleece from the neck and shoulders of the lamb, gives the pile its fine, dense hand, and the silk adds sheen and sharpens the smallest details. At 580 to 600 knots per square inch, this weave is tight enough to give tiny songbirds a beak, a wing and a tail, which is the real test of an Isfahan weaver. Brand new, it is ready for a bedroom, study or entry, or to be hung on a wall where its detail can be enjoyed up close.
