8'2" x 10'8" Persian Bijar Rug | Rust Red Herati Diamond | Navy and Ivory
Few rugs can be handed down with the confidence of a good Bijar, and this 8'2" x 10'8" example is woven at approximately 360 to 380 knots per square inch, which is high for a town known first for strength. That combination gives you a rug that is both finely drawn and almost impossible to wear out. It is knotted entirely in wool, and its size suits the living rooms and dining rooms where buyers usually shop the 9x12 Persian rugs, while leaving a little more floor showing around the edges. The rug is in excellent condition with full, even pile, and it ships with a certificate of authenticity recording origin, materials and knot count.
Design and Motifs
A large rust red diamond with clipped, stepped points dominates the field, set on a navy ground that fills the corners. At its center sits a small ivory hexagonal medallion, with a tiny finial above and below it. All of these zones are covered in the herati pattern, which Bijar weavers call mahi or fish: a rosette framed by 4 curved leaves inside a small diamond, repeated in a tight lattice. The pattern never breaks as it passes from navy to red to ivory, so the diamond and medallion seem to float on one continuous textured surface. The wide main border has an ivory ground with large red and navy palmettes, curling serrated leaves and small blossoms. It is framed by narrow red and navy guard stripes, and a red outer band finishes the edge.
Rust Red, Navy and Ivory
The rust red diamond is the heart of the palette, a warm, earthy red that glows against the deep navy corners around it. On the red the herati lattice is drawn in navy and dark brown with rose and ivory rosettes, and on the navy the same lattice turns red, rose and ivory, so the two grounds mirror each other. The small ivory medallion is the brightest point of the field, picked out with red and navy rosettes and touches of sky blue. The ivory main border opens the rug up at the edges, its red and navy palmettes accented with beige, dark olive green and a little blue. The result is a classic, saturated Bijar palette with enough ivory to keep it from feeling heavy, and it sits naturally with wood floors and both traditional and transitional rooms.
Built the Bijar Way
Bijar sits in the Kurdish highlands of western Persia, and its weavers are known for a method found nowhere else at the same intensity. The wool is dampened, each row of symmetric knots is tied, and the wefts are hammered down with a heavy metal comb until the warps are forced onto 2 levels. That is why Persian Bijar rugs are called the iron rugs: heavy, stiff and built to take generations of foot traffic. Most Bijars are coarser than this one. At 360 to 380 knots per square inch, this rug keeps that iron construction and adds crisp, fine drawing in every herati unit, so it is as handsome close up as it is tough underfoot.
