As someone who has been in and written about the design world for the last 15(ish) years, there’s a lot I know about how to put together a room, what architectural styles exist, and beyond. There’s also a lot I don’t know enough about. And after talking to Sheba Khodadad who owns and operates Blue Parakeet Rugs, I realized Persian rugs are one of those topics I needed to seriously study. And boy is there a lot to learn.
Before my talk with Sheba, I didn’t know a heriz from a sarouk, a mahal from a tabriz, let alone that Persian rugs get their names from the region or tribe they were woven in rather than their design (more on that below). Trying to distill down to you what she enlightened me with feels like making a Cliff’s Notes version of the encyclopedia. But by golly, I’m going to try.
First, I want to introduce Sheba, our expert source for this article. Sheba is the proprietor of one of EHD’s favorite rug dealers, Blue Parakeet Rugs. She’s based here in Los Angeles, but ships worldwide (though if you *are* in LA, do take advantage of her rug’n’roll services where she brings some options straight to your home to test out).
Sheba is a wealth of knowledge on the topic, and when I tell you that her heart bleeds for Persian rugs, I’m being serious. Never have I felt such love, such warmth, such light from a person I’ve interviewed trying to educate me on a subject. I left our hour-and-a-half-long conversation practically beaming and also thirsty to learn more. I downloaded everything I could remember to my husband that night at dinner, my head spinning with all the things I wanted to say but couldn’t fully articulate because there was just so.much.to.say.
She grew up around the world of antiques and rugs, her uncle Joseph (a world-renowned rug buyer, dealer, and appraiser) getting her into the business nearly a decade ago. What started as a single Craigslist sale of an Oriental Art Decor rug has turned into a robust company that works with designers and homeowners around the world with a revolving catalog of hundreds of one-of-a-kind pieces.
Bottom line: she knows her stuff. Between our chat and my own research, I hope I’ve put together more information than anyone could possibly need who’s just getting into the Persian rug game. As I mentioned, there’s A LOT to get through, so let’s get started.
Antique VS. Vintage Rug: What’s The Difference?
Before we dive into what makes a Persian rug so special, it’s important to set the distinction between an antique Persian rug (the gold standard) and a vintage Persian rug. These words tend to be used interchangeably by a lot of people, but there are specific differences, particularly in the Persian rug realm. It’s not an exact year cut off, but typically, antique rugs are from the 1930s and prior (or roughly at least 100 years old) and vintage is anything that’s 30 to 50 years old. I’ll let Sheba share her passionate thoughts on the subject as she says it far better than I would:
“Vintage is a very overused, ambiguous term in the marketplace. People consider 20-year-old rugs vintage. Vintage truly is not 20 years old, it should date back more. So from a technical standpoint, the difference between antique and vintage is age, but more predominantly, it’s what the rug is made from and the techniques used to make it. If I can get poetic about it, the difference between an antique rug and a vintage rug is like comparing a diamond to glass. A myth to a legend. It’s that drastic, the quality, care and materiality used.”
In antique rugs, the weavers would sheer the wool off their sheep, turn that wool into yarn, gather spices, roots and vegetation to create dye baths to dye that yard, then sit from sunset to sundown, sometimes for as long as five years, Sheba told me, weaving these rugs by hand. There was no design to copy and weave it from. The designs were one-of-a-kind. When you look at the preciseness and intricacy of some of these antique rugs, your mind is blown that someone did that from their mind, with their hands, with no machine. Sometimes families would take turns weaving, and that often created a bit of a looser knot style and design. It’s quite unbelievable. It’s a work of art, truly.
What Makes Persian Rugs So Special?
There is a wide variety of antique rug types: Turkish rugs (made with a double knot rather than the single knot of a Persian), Afghan rugs, Oriental rugs (which Persian rugs are a subcategory of), Moroccan and beyond. But by far, Persian rugs—which come from Iran—are the most prized and often, the most expensive due to their incredible quality, materials, durability, and intricacy of design.
“You’re walking on art,” says Sheba. “Persian rugs are the most labor-intensive hand-woven items in the world. That quality lasts and sustains age gracefully. The dyes soften over time to create a beautiful patina. The colors mellow rather than fade, unlike synthetic dyes that can fade quickly.”
An item that lasts through generations is also, of course, very eco-friendly, especially one that is made strictly from wool and vegetable dyes. “So many of the cheaper commercial rugs out there these days are made of polypropylene, which is literally just plastic. It’s not eco-friendly. The edges start curling up, they just don’t last.”
A quick anecdote on the value of Persian rugs: Sheba mentioned that growing up, her parents never invested their money in stocks or real estate. They had antique Persian rugs. That was where their money was parked, and considering rugs of value can sell for tens of thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) of dollars, maybe it was a safe, non-volatile bet on their financial future.
How To Know What You’re Buying
I could go into all the specifics that Sheba shared with me but ultimately, it boils down to this: You MUST find a reputable dealer or seller if you care about authenticity. According to Sheba, most people who sell antique Persian rugs just don’t have the encyclopedic knowledge needed to properly ID and price these things. Don’t be afraid to ask questions such as the age of the rug, what region it was made in, and specifics about its weaving and knot style. Anyone who knows what they’re doing will be able to answer these questions for you.
Other keywords to look for besides details regarding design, motif, and provenance include:
- hand-knotted (vs. hand-tufted or machine-made)
- wool and/or silk (vs. wool blends or synthetic materials like polypropylene)
- natural vegetable dyes (vs. synthetic, aniline, azo, chrome mordant, or coal tar dyes)
Understanding Persian Rug Colors & Price Ranges
One of the first questions I asked Sheba was: “Why are so many Persian rugs predominantly red?” She explained to me that all the natural dyes used were made from natural elements, and one of the most abundant natural resources they had around in the Persian region was something called madder root, which gave off a deep red color. Other colors were harder to come by, and hence today, are much more expensive as supply and demand would imply that there are fewer of these to come by. Here are some of the other resources that were used to create the beautiful colors in Persian rugs:
- Indigo: This made dark blue. After weavers dyed their first round of yarn, what was left was a second dye bath of a lighter blue. That’s how we get that beautiful soft French blue, but since it was more labor intensive, it was far less common.
- Walnuts: Shells were used to create browns and black.
- Saffron & turmeric: These two create deep saturated yellows and golds.
- Pomegranate rind: Pale yellow. Pomegranate rind was also added to other color dye baths to create more unique shades like teal, peachier yellows, moss green, bright green, and others.
- Onion skin: Yellow, orange, rust, and brown.
It’s also important to note that in the 1930s and ’40s, demand for red rugs skyrocketed specifically in the US, so those got cranked out from Iran. “Price is going to vary so much depending on that,” says Sheba. “Nowadays, everyone wants a blue rug, which is less common. Yellow is even less common than that. Green…less common. Purple? Forget it, so rare.”
Sheba explained to me that while color is part of how a rug is priced, there are other factors. Ultimately, it all comes down to rarity. “Just to blow your mind a little bit, there are rugs that have sold at Sotheby’s from a certain period called the Safavid for $2 million. You could have a 3-foot-by-5-foot rug that sells for $500,000 or $500. There are certain people and tribes that no longer exist in the world that produced rugs that will never be made again. The people have died out but their rugs lived on. That rug you have today was on the back of a donkey centuries ago. They’re a piece of history from another era. They carry stories and soul. You’re putting that in your home. It’s amazing.”
The Most Common Design Configurations
Here is where we get into the nitty-gritty. There’s something I learned in this whole research process that wasn’t clear to me before: Persian rugs feature common designs, and within those designs are common motifs, and those motifs (and designs) are common across rug types. So, we have designs, motifs and types. Let’s start with designs.
Left to right: 8′ x 11’4 Late 19th Century Serapi #2403 | 3’4 x 5’4 Caucasian Rug #3170 | 3×5 Vintage Persian French Blue Rug #3336ML | 7×10 Ivory and Blue Persian Mahal Rug #3407
I’m trying to keep things as clear and straightforward as I can, but I do want to say there are a few other distinctions I have glossed over (my thinking is I’ll cover them throughout instead of individually). For instance, a Persian rug can be floral, geometric or universal in design, and tribal/nomadic, city or village but I think I may have already lost you before I even started. How about we stick to my game plan, hm? (She says mostly to herself…)
Okay, so while there are many design types you see throughout rugs from all over the world, Persian rugs tend to fall into these four designs: Medallion, repeating medallion, medallion open field, and allover. There may be a few other outliers but these are fairly common.
- Medallion: A rug is classified as having a medallion design when the design is built off a central medallion. This is a symmetrical design and can be made of a variety of motifs. Some are crisp and geometric (like you might see in a Heriz rug), while others are highly decorative and elongated. There are typically additional design elements that surround the medallion.
- Repeating medallion: Exactly how it sounds: a central medallion that is repeated down and/or across the rug.
- Medallion open field: Where the medallion design has decoration extended out from the center point, an open field medallion has some breathing room between it and a border. (An open field design in general has more “white space” and solid areas of color, with or without a medallion.)
- Allover: Sheba opened my eyes to realize this was my preferred design of rug. She said it’s the easiest to style because the design is, well, allover, rather than built off a center point like a medallion, so you don’t have to worry about covering the keystone of the rug. Typically, the motifs are smaller and repeated.
Well-Known Persian Rug Motifs
Alright, so we’ve covered design styles, but now we have to talk about the beautiful shapes and patterns that make up those designs. “Persian rugs are really renowned for their design and rich symbolism. These motifs reflect the culture, the history, the artistic tradition, and speak of the regions that they come from,” notes Sheba. “There’s a lot of nature because remember, the majority of these people who were weaving were sitting outside, inspired by nature. So it comes into their rugs, into their art.”
And according to Sheba, her website and the internet at large, there are a plethora of motifs often seen in Persian rugs, many of which have some beautiful symbolism. There are bird and animal motifs, flowers, trees, and others. “Peacocks, deer, fish…all of these creatures in their natural settings have different stylized forms and different interpretations. Art is often interpreted differently by whoever is looking at it.”
Here are six worth noting that are well-loved, but remember, there are so many more!
Top row, left to right: 3’4 x 4’7 Antique scatter rug (#630) at Anthropologie | 6′ x 15’10” Antique 19th Century Mashhad rug #2278 | 2’9 x 5’2 Antique Beshir Turkmen Chuval Camel Bag Face #2297
Bottom row, left to right: 2×4 Vintage Rug / Persian Senneh Rug #2307ML | 7×10 Antique Floral Navy Mashaad Rug #3259 | 3’6 x 5’1 Antique Shirvan Rug #3083
- Herati: This popular pattern is named after the city of Herat where it comes from. It’s also sometimes called by its Farsi name “mahi”, which means fish, as the motif is made up of small fish-like weavings. Some descriptions I read mention the “fish” is actually a flower surrounded by acanthus leaves which are shaped like fish. Either way, Herati rugs symbolize abundance and are a “good omen” according to Sheba.
- Boteh: Farsi for “bush” or “thicket,” we Westerners know this better as paisley. It’s a teardrop or flame-like shape where the bulbous portion is full of vegetation or a cluster of leaves. “This is associated with fertility,” says Sheba. “It symbolizes the cycle of life and renewal—birth and eternity.”
- Mina khani: Sheba seemed particularly smitten with this motif. It’s a repetitive, allover design made up of small daisy-like flowers interconnected with a network of vines. “I love this design; it has such beautiful appeal, which symbolizes the cycle of life,” she says.
- Tree of Life: This robust, non-repetitive motif is so rich with imagery. It can have trees, branches, birds and other animals. It’s very naturalistic, but it specifically symbolizes eternal life and growth. Sheba notes that Tree of Life motifs showcase “the connection between heaven and earth. In our very short time that we live on Earth, we want to have enlightenment, you know, so the tree of life kind of symbolizes this sort of self-actualization and life and death, and growth.”
- Floral: This one is self-explanatory: The patterns that comprise floral motif rugs are made of flowers and vines.
- Geometric: Geometric designs are crisp, angular and often a tribal/nomadic type of Persian rug. Tribal motifs tend to feel very much like folk art, and if you look at the rug on the bottom right, you might get that sense, too. It reminds me of patterns we tend to see in the Southwest region of the US; almost native.
A Few Popular Persian Rug Types
Designs: check. Motifs: check. Next up: rug names/types.
And if you thought there was a lot to know there, buckle up, because there is SO MUCH MORE. Persian rug *types* are less about how a rug looks (though there are throughlines, of course) and more about where the rug was originally made, which denotes how it was constructed and the materials that it was woven from. Rugs are named after the region they come from or the village/tribe that made them. While I know a lot of us buy rugs specifically based on aesthetics and design motifs, it’s important to understand the makeup of Persian rug types as some are incredibly hard-wearing, some are lower pile, higher pile, wear down faster, floppier, stiffer, etc. You might want to keep those things in mind depending on where these rugs will be going in your home.
Left to right: 8×13 Tribal Antique Bidjar #2234 | 3’4 x 15’8 Antique 1940s Tribal Runner (#823) | 10×15 Antique Tabriz Rug #2025
- Bidjar: Often called the “Iron Rugs of Iran” as they are extremely durable. The people who wove Bidjar’s would use a hammer or mallet to pound down on their knots to create the tightest weave possible. “A stampede of elephants could march on this thing over and over and nothing would happen to it,” says Sheba. Being this tightly woven also means they are incredibly heavy for their size. Their designs are clear and detailed, and have a variety of beautiful colors. Bidjar rugs can last hundreds and hundreds of years without much wear and tear under normal circumstances.
- Bakhtiari: A nomadic Persian rug, Bakhtiari rugs often have repeated rectilinear floral patterns. They’re thick, solid, sturdy and usually have bright, varied colors. The sheep from the Bakhtiari region were known for their very luxurious wool, which made beautifully soft (but durable) rugs.
- Tabriz: Tabriz rugs are some of the most “elite” Persian rugs, which makes them wildly desirable, but also quite expensive. They are classified as “city” or traditional rugs. “These rugs are very refined. They’re tightly woven and come from very skilled hands,” explains Sheba. Because the weavers used Turkish knots instead of Persian knots, the resulting designs are often incredibly precise, consistent, and perfectly mirrored and symmetrical. They come in a wide range of colors, including deep red, midnight blue, and even pastel ivories and yellows.
Left to right: 9×12 Antique French Blue Ground Heriz Rug #2857 | 11×14 Persian Kashan Rug #GL1 | 9×15 Royal Blue Antique Persian Sarouk Rug #2562
- Heriz: Heriz rugs have grown tremendously in popularity. Sheba says it’s the rug type she sells the most these days because people just love them. They are recognizable by their geometric medallion design with tribal elements. It has fewer knots than some other Persian rugs, making it a bit coarser but very sturdy due to its solid and stout cotton foundation. A similar rug design is the Serapi, which has a tighter knot structure and a more open design. Colors can be bold and saturated or muted like the beautiful blue and rust one above.
- Kashan: Another central medallion rug design from the city of Kashan in Iran. Like Tabriz, these are fine, highly precise rugs, usually woven in tight, traditional Persian knots with wool and a silk foundation. They are detailed, crisp and intricate florals in shades of red, blue and ivory, predominantly.
- Sarouk: One of the most distinguishing features of this low-pile rug is the blue 4 from its foundation. That’s mixed with salmons, reds and ivories. Older Sarouk rugs can be found in oranges, browns and champagne. As for motifs, they usually feature a center medallion and an open field of vases, florals or garden-themed elements.
Left to right: 3’6 x 4’4 Antique Yomut Turkoman #1426 | 3’5 x 8’10 Antique Persian Malayer Runner #2342 | 10×14 Antique Worn Persian Mahal Rug #3369
- Turkoman: I’m fairly certain I’ve owned a Turkoman rug, found for $20 at a Habitat For Humanity ReStore. It used to be in my kitchen but it’s since in holding in my garage. These are almost consistently known for their repeating geometric patterns in either red or brown, usually in octagonal shapes. They were originally woven by tribes in Turkmenistan, though some lived in Afghanistan and Iran. They typically have a low pile and are soft to the touch.
- Malayer: Some rugs were woven in large sizes (see below) while others are typically smaller or runners, like the Malayer rug. These are highly decorative and often have a deep blue or French blue field color with an allover, repeating design. Herati and Boteh motifs are common. Malayer rugs have a medium to high knot density and are made of high-quality, soft wool.
- Mahal: Originally crafted in the Mahallat village, Mahals are known for their intricate designs and coarse knotting style. They tend to be found in large sizes, and in earth tones or muted colors. They can be floppy and low-pile (definitely don’t skip the rug pad under one of these).
MY FRIENDS, WE MADE IT! I’m only scratching the surface, but I hope, if you made it alllllll the way down here, that I left you better than you came, equipped with the knowledge to go forth and acquire a beautiful Persian rug of your own in your own budget. Please PLEASE peruse Sheba’s inventory because her prices are extraordinary and her selection is gorgeous.
Thank you again to the wonderful Sheba for passing along your expertise to share with everyone here. You’re a force to be reckoned with, for sure. 🙂
Until next time, my friends…
Opening Image Credit: Design & Styling: Emily Henderson | Photo:Tessa Neustadt | From: Our Modern English Tudor Living Room + Get The Look
