5x7'7 Fine Persian Isfahan Seirafian Rug | Shikargah Hunting Scene | Wool and Silk on Silk Foundation

This exceptional hand-knotted Persian Isfahan rug by the Seirafian atelier measures 5 x 7'7 and represents one of the most prestigious formats in all of Persian weaving: the Shikargah, or royal hunting scene. Woven at approximately 600 knots per square inch on a pure silk foundation, this is a piece of extraordinary fineness, with a profile so thin and supple that it handles more like a textile than a floor covering. The wool and silk pile captures an elaborate composition of mounted royal hunters, wild animals, flowering trees, and birds across a warm blush rose ground, all rendered with the precision and artistic control that has made the Seirafian name one of the most respected in Isfahan rug production. The piece is in excellent, never-used condition and bears the master weaver's signature.

Design and Motifs

The field of this rug depicts a classic Persian royal hunt in full motion. Multiple horsemen in richly patterned court costumes ride across the blush ground, wielding bows, spears, and swords as they pursue leopards, deer, gazelles, wild boar, hares, and wolves through a landscape of flowering trees, blossoming shrubs, and ornamental plants. Birds in flight fill the upper field, adding movement and depth to the scene. Each figure and animal is rendered with individual character and fine detail, from the patterned fabrics of the riders' garments to the musculature of the horses. The outer border carries a procession of animals including camels, deer, goats, and dogs set among palm trees and flowering vegetation, creating a secondary narrative that frames the central hunting scene. A narrow dark guard border with a repeating floral vine separates the figural border from the field on all sides.

Colors and Placement

The ground of the field is a warm, muted blush rose that gives the composition a softness and warmth unusual among hunting scene rugs, which more commonly use ivory or deep red grounds. Against this ground, the figures and animals are rendered in a rich range of tones: dark navy and burgundy red for the costumes and accents, chocolate brown and black for the horses and predatory animals, golden yellow and cream for the horses and light-colored animals, steel blue and light blue for decorative costume elements and floral details, and teal green and sage green throughout the foliage. The taupe and dusty rose border ground echoes the field palette and creates a harmonious, unified composition. At 5 x 7'7 this rug is well suited to a study, a formal bedroom, a library, or any space where a collector-quality piece can be displayed and appreciated close up. It also works exceptionally well displayed on a wall as a textile artwork.

Isfahan Seirafian Rug

The Seirafian family is one of the most celebrated weaving dynasties in Isfahan, Iran, with a multi-generational legacy of producing some of the finest hand-knotted rugs in the world. Isfahan has been a center of Persian court weaving since the Safavid period of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the Seirafian atelier continues that tradition with exceptional technical standards. A knot density of approximately 600 knots per square inch places this piece among the finest production Isfahan rugs available, with a level of detail and precision that approaches the best historical examples. The silk foundation allows for greater knot density than a cotton base and gives the rug its characteristic thinness and flexibility. The wool and silk pile combination produces a surface that shifts in luster as light moves across it, with the silk content intensifying colors and sharpening the outlines of every motif. The master weaver's signature, woven into the lower border in Arabic script, authenticates the piece as a genuine Seirafian production.