6'6" x 10'9" Persian Bijar Rug | Lobed Cartouche Medallion | Rare Scalloped Composition

Two things make this rug unusual before you even look at the colors. First, the size: 6'6" by 10'9" is not a standard production dimension, which means this piece was woven on a custom-set loom rather than pulled off a stock cartoon. Second, the medallion: instead of the hexagonal diamond that defines almost every Bijar on the market, this weaver built a layered scalloped cartouche, three nested lobed shapes flowing one inside the next, ending in a small dark cusped center. That kind of compositional ambition is rare in Bijar production and typically only seen in workshop-grade pieces. Read our complete guide to Bijar rugs to understand why this town's weavings sit in their own category within the Persian tradition.

Why This Medallion Is Different

Look at the center of the rug closely. The outermost lobed shape sits in terracotta with herati micro-pattern. Inside that, an ivory cartouche carries the same herati in a paler palette, with two graceful scrolling cypress-leaf forms flanking it like brackets. Inside that ivory cartouche, a smaller pointed cartouche reverses again to navy, holding a dense red-and-cream herati core. Three distinct color planes, three distinct outline shapes, all nested inside one another like Russian dolls. Most Bijars give you a single medallion shape repeated at scale. This piece gives you three readable layers of design happening in the same vertical axis, which is what gives the rug its sense of depth and movement when viewed from across a room.

The Sarouk-Influenced Border

The main border is the second giveaway that this is not a standard Bijar. Instead of the geometric turtle border most pieces from Bijar use, this weaver pulled from the Sarouk vocabulary, large palmettes and curling acanthus leaves on an ivory ground, with bright salmon, plum, and sage green accents. It is a more painterly border than Bijars typically wear, and the ivory ground lifts the entire rug visually rather than letting the deep terracotta dominate. Cross-pollination between weaving regions like this happened in the most ambitious Persian workshops, and it is one of the markers collectors look for.

Colors and Where to Place It

The palette runs warm and elegant: terracotta and rust dominate the field, ivory holds the medallion and main border, and the secondary tones of salmon, plum, sage, and soft pink keep the overall feel lighter and more refined than the typical heavy navy-and-red Bijar. At 6'6" by 10'9" the rug fills out a living room with a sofa and chairs all sitting on the rug, anchors a dining table for eight to ten with chairs pulling back onto the rug, works exceptionally well in a master bedroom under the foot of the bed with overhang on three sides, or makes a serious statement in a study or library where its design rewards close looking.

Why Bijar Weaving Is Worth the Premium

Bijar is a Kurdish town in northwestern Iran whose weavers developed a wet-loom technique and a heavy metal beating comb that produce a foundation so dense the finished rug feels almost like a wooden board. That structural density is why Bijars are nicknamed the iron rugs of Persia, and it is why a well-made Bijar can be walked on for a hundred years and still hold its shape, color, and pile height. Combine that engineering with a non-standard medallion, a Sarouk-inspired border, and an off-spec custom size, and you have a piece that simply does not show up in the market often. For the long view on why these rugs outlast almost everything else on the floor, see our deeper guide on why Bijars last a lifetime.