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Every rug we sell is one of a kind, so that piece is gone. Here are others in the same spirit, or tell Rug Finder what you are looking for.
Persian Rugs
Persian rugs come from the great weaving centers of Persia, where cities, villages and tribal camps have each developed their own hand of the loom.
Why Persian rugs remain the benchmark
Persian rugs are the pieces every other hand-knotted carpet is measured against, and the vintage examples gathered here show why. Each was tied by hand on an upright loom somewhere in Persia, knot by knot, in wool. What arrives on your floor is the sum of that work plus forty to eighty years of ordinary life, colors that have mellowed, a pile that has been walked into a soft sheen, and small irregularities that mark a carpet made by a person rather than a machine.
Expect finely drawn medallions from Tabriz and Kashan, the rust geometry of Heriz, the sturdy village knotting of Hamedan, the tribal weaves of Baluch and Torkaman, and the deep, mellow palette that old Persian weaving is known for. Every piece here has already spent decades on a real floor. Choose the one whose story fits your room.
A map of Persia’s weaving regions
Persian weaving is really a cluster of regional hands, and once you can read them, choosing gets easier. City workshops produced the most formal designs: Tabriz for crisp, tightly drawn medallions, Kashan for dense floral fields in deep red and ivory, and Mashhad for large, softly colored carpets from the east. Country weaving has a different temperament: Heriz turns its medallions into bold rust-and-navy geometry, while Hamedan villages knot sturdy, single-wefted rugs built for daily use. Tribal groups such as the Bakhtiari weave garden-panel grids and folk motifs that owe nothing to a city drawing office.
Knots, dyes and the logic of the pattern
Many Persian rugs, especially city pieces such as Kashan, use the asymmetrical, or Senneh, knot, which wraps around a single warp and lets a weaver follow the tight curves of a floral vine. That is why the tradition is so at home with curvilinear medallions, spandrels and arabesques, though geometric village work is common too. Many palettes begin with plant and insect dyes: madder for warm reds, indigo for blues that shade from midnight to slate, weld and vine for yellows and greens. Because the wool was dyed in small batches, you will often see abrash, a gentle horizontal shift in tone, running across the field. It is a fingerprint of hand-dyeing, not a fault.
How to recognize a hand-knotted original
- Turn it over. The pattern should read clearly on the back, with individual knots visible rather than a printed or glued grid.
- Check the fringe. On a true hand-knotted rug the fringe is an extension of the warp threads, not sewn on afterwards.
- Look for abrash. Subtle bands of color change point to natural, small-batch dyeing.
- Feel the handle. Old hand-knotted wool carries a weight that reproductions rarely capture.
- Expect small asymmetries. A border that adjusts its rhythm or a medallion set a touch off-center is the mark of a human weaver.
Living with your rug
These carpets were built for busy households, so there is little to fear. Lay a felt-and-rubber rug pad underneath to stop sliding and cushion the pile, and turn the rug end for end once or twice a year so foot traffic and sunlight wear it evenly. Vacuum with the suction head rather than a spinning beater bar, and blot spills with a cloth instead of scrubbing. A dense Persian weave hides crumbs, paw prints and the odd accident far better than a plain modern rug, which is part of why these pieces stay in family use for generations. If you are matching a carpet to a particular space, our size guide walks through the proportions worth measuring first.
Questions buyers ask about Persian rugs
Which region should I start with?
For a formal, symmetrical look, begin with a city weave such as Tabriz or Kashan. If you want something that shrugs off a busy room, Heriz and Hamedan village rugs are hard to beat, and their geometry suits contemporary interiors as readily as traditional ones.
How old are these rugs?
Everything we carry is vintage: hand-knotted between the 1940s and the 1980s, so decades old. We do not stock rugs from earlier eras. Vintage is the sweet spot for living with a rug, old enough for the color to have mellowed, young enough to put on the floor without worrying.
Are tribal pieces less refined than city rugs?
They are different rather than lesser. City rugs prize precision and high knot counts; tribal and village rugs such as Bakhtiari prize expressive drawing and hard-wearing wool. Many collectors find the country weaves the more characterful of the two.
Every rug in this collection is a single original, cleaned by specialists we have trusted for years, and once one sells it does not come back. Browse new arrivals to see the most recently listed pieces.
For a closer look at one of the great northwest Persian weaves, read the story of Heriz.
New to buying vintage? What makes a vintage rug worth keeping covers what to look for and what ages well.
Every Persian origin we carry, what the name is telling you and what it costs: the ultimate guide to Persian rugs.