3'10" x 5'10" Persian Isfahan Rug | Signed Ahmad Shahabpour | Kork Wool & Silk Mehrab Design

This Persian Isfahan rug is an early work by master Ahmad Shahabpour, woven roughly four decades ago and never used. Collectors prize his early period for a reason you can feel the moment your hand touches the pile: the kork wool of these years is noticeably softer than in his later production, and it plays beautifully against the generous silk woven throughout the design. Apart from minor imperfections in the fringes, the rug is in perfect condition, and the woven signature sits in the upper border.

Design and Motifs

The composition is a directional Mehrab design: silvery acanthus scrolls sweep inward from the ivory spandrels at the top, framing an arch over a mocha field. Golden vinework tumbles down toward a powder blue medallion holding a bouquet of roses, irises, and daisies above an ornate vase, while flowering urns climb both flanks. Below, a second scalloped blue cartouche anchors the base amid irises and peonies. His iconic borders complete the piece: a chocolate main band of blossoms and feathered leaves between cream lotus guard stripes.

Colors and Placement

The palette is unusual and sophisticated for Isfahan weaving: warm mocha and olive brown grounds carrying powder blue, butter yellow, sage, cream, and coral, with silk highlights tracing the scrollwork so the design shimmers as light shifts. At 3'10" x 5'10", a comfortable 4x6 footprint, it suits a bedroom, study, or entry, and the directional design makes it a natural for wall display, where it reads like an illuminated page.

Origin and Construction

Woven in the Shahabpour atelier on a pure silk foundation, the pile combines kork wool and silk, the soft lambswool clipped from the neck and shoulders paired with lustrous silk detailing. The back shows the tight, even grid of a first-rank Isfahan workshop, and forty years of careful storage have left the colors as fresh as the day the rug came off the loom. As a direct importer, Rugs.net offers free shipping and free returns to all 50 states, same-day refunds, and our price beat guarantee.