8'5" x 11'6" Persian Tabriz Rug | Gonbad Dome Medallion | Aubergine Field with Floral Cartouche Border

This is a Persian Tabriz drawn in the **gonbad** style, the design tradition that takes its inspiration directly from the painted and tiled domes of Persian mosques. Look up at the ceiling of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan and you see exactly this: an ivory rosette at the apex, surrounded by concentric rings of cartouches that radiate outward like sunbeams. The Tabriz weavers translated that architectural language into knotted wool, and this rug is a textbook example. What makes this particular piece stand out is the field color, a deep aubergine-violet that you almost never see in Tabriz production, where navy or rust dominates. To understand where Tabriz sits within the broader Persian weaving tradition, see our complete style guide to Persian rugs.

Reading the Gonbad Medallion

The center of this rug is built like a Persian dome viewed from below. At the apex sits a small dark rosette enclosed in a circular ivory chamber, with delicate scrolling vines radiating outward in eight directions. The first ring of pointed cartouches, executed in red and ivory, sits closest to the center. The second ring of larger cartouches sits further out, in deeper colors of green and gold. The third ring extends almost to the corners. This is exactly how a tiled mosque dome is read by a worshipper looking up: a single point of focus at the top, then concentric layers that draw the eye outward. Above and below the medallion, two stylized hanging mosque lamps complete the architectural reference, a detail that the most thoughtful gonbad weavers always include.

Why the Aubergine Field Matters

Most Tabriz gonbad rugs ground the medallion on navy or burgundy. This piece uses a rich aubergine-violet that shifts toward eggplant in low light and toward dusky plum in daylight. It is a far less common dye choice and a more sophisticated one, because it gives the ivory medallion and salmon-pink secondary tones space to breathe without competing for attention. The aubergine also bridges warm and cool palettes, which means this rug will pair with both warm wood furniture and cooler-toned upholstery without locking you into one scheme. Combined with the bright cherry-red main border and forest-green secondary medallions, the overall effect is regal but not heavy.

The Multi-Cartouche Border

The main border is itself an unusual choice. Instead of the standard turtle border or simple palmette vine that many Tabriz rugs wear, this weaver alternated three distinct cartouche shapes around the perimeter: a green octagonal floret, a red shield-shaped cartouche, and an ivory diamond. Each is fully drawn with its own internal floral structure, and they cycle in a strict rhythm around all four sides. Borders this articulated typically come from named Tabriz workshops rather than village production, and they are a clear marker of a rug woven for a serious buyer rather than the export market.

Colors and Where to Place It

The palette runs aubergine, ivory, deep cherry red, gold, forest green, and salmon pink, with sky blue accents inside the radiating cartouches. At 8'5" by 11'6" this is a true large-room rug that anchors a living room with all furniture sitting on the rug, comfortably accommodates a dining table for ten with chairs pulling back onto the rug, fills out a master bedroom with the bed centered and substantial overhang on three sides, or makes a serious statement in a formal study, library, or front parlor.

Tabriz and the Persian Workshop Tradition

Tabriz is the historical capital of East Azerbaijan and one of the oldest continuously operating weaving cities in Persia, with carpet production traced back to the 15th century Safavid court. By the 19th century Tabriz had become the commercial heart of the Persian rug trade, where the most ambitious workshops drew on both Safavid court designs and architectural sources like mosque ceilings to create the detailed, refined compositions the city is now known for. A piece like this one, with its gonbad medallion, mosque-lamp pendants, multi-cartouche border, and uncommon aubergine ground, is exactly the kind of weaving that earned Tabriz its reputation as the most design-conscious of all Persian rug centers. For more on the differences between silk and wool weavings of this caliber, see our wool vs silk buying guide.