6'10" x 10'1" Persian Qum Kork Wool Rug | Ivory Vase Panels | Wine Red Lattice | Navy Floral Border
This 6'10" x 10'1" Persian Qum is hand-knotted in kork wool, the soft, lustrous fleece taken from the neck and shoulders of the sheep, at approximately 400 knots per square inch. Kork has a natural sheen and a silky hand that ordinary wool cannot match, and at this density every flower in the design is drawn with clean, sharp edges. The rug has never been used, is in excellent condition and comes with a certificate of authenticity. It is one of the more refined pieces among our 7x10 Persian rugs, well suited to a dining room or a formal living room.
Design and Motifs
Rather than a central medallion, the field is divided into rows of cusped ivory panels, each shaped like a small arch and each holding its own vase of flowers. The rows are offset, so every panel nests between the 2 below it, and the wine red ground between them forms a lattice of scrolling vines and small blossoms. Each vase overflows with roses, rosettes and leafy sprays, and no 2 bouquets are drawn exactly alike, which rewards a close look. The navy main border carries large rose and red blossoms linked by leafy vines, and it is framed by several narrow guard stripes with tiny repeating motifs that give the edges a fine, layered finish. The effect is orderly from across the room and rich in detail up close, a garden laid out in rows.
Wine Red, Ivory and Navy
Wine red and dark red form the lattice that holds the design together, a deep, warm frame around every panel. The panels themselves are ivory with a warm, almost golden cast, and beige shades soften the vases and the larger leaves within them, so the field looks bright without feeling stark. Navy blue fills the main border, the darkest and coolest tone in the rug, and gives the whole composition a strong outline. Blue repeats in many of the smaller flowers inside the panels, connecting the field to the border. Rose is the main flower color, used for the large blossoms in the border and many of the roses in the vases, while dark green and light green draw the leaves and stems. Because the wool is kork, all of these colors carry a soft sheen that shifts with the light, especially in the ivory panels.
Qum, A Young Weaving City
Qum is a city in central Persia, north of Kashan, and it came to rug weaving relatively late, in the first half of the 20th century. Many of its early weavers came from Kashan, and the city quickly built a reputation for fine silk rugs and for kork wool pieces with exceptionally clean drawing. Qum workshops favor allover and compartment designs such as garden panels, vase motifs and repeating cartouches, often in lighter, elegant palettes. Today a Qum is one of the first names collectors think of for fine, detailed work. Browse our Persian Qum rugs to see the range in silk and wool. This one offers that refinement in kork wool, rows of ivory vase panels set in wine red and framed in navy.
