15 x 22 - Red Antique Persian Tabriz Rug - 77178

77178 Antique Persian Tabriz Rug, 14'07 x 21'07.

The Safavid Reverie: A Late 19th Century Persian Tabriz Masterpiece of Splendor

Inspired by the celebrated Ardabil Carpet of the Safavid dynasty, this hand-knotted wool antique Persian Tabriz rug translates one of the great achievements of classical carpet design into a stunning masterwork. At its heart rests a creamy-beige circular sixteen-point medallion, conceived with the architectural precision and ceremonial balance associated with Safavid court aesthetics. A ring of sixteen pointed oval forms radiates around this commanding nucleus, creating the impression of a celestial orbit suspended upon a sumptuous red field. The exceptional composition possesses the grandeur of a palace commission, offering the connoisseur a textile steeped in artistic lineage and cultivated prestige.

Encircling the center is a magnificent garden of blooming palmettes, serrated leaves, stylized blossoms, rosettes, and sinuous arabesque vines. In Persian decorative tradition, floral imagery transformed the carpet into an evocation of paradise: palmettes conveyed flourishing abundance, blossoms suggested renewal, and interconnected foliage expressed continuity and the perpetual rhythm of life. The scrolling tendrils travel across the field with controlled exuberance, creating a dense botanical universe in which geometry and nature become inseparable. Ivory corner spandrels echo the ornament of the central reserve, reinforcing the sense that the entire surface belongs to one unified cosmological scheme.

Perhaps the most evocative details are the chandelier lamps suspended from either end of the medallion, a defining reference to the Ardabil tradition. Their presence introduces a spiritual dimension to the design, recalling illumination, sacred architecture, and the metaphorical passage from darkness toward divine light. The sixteen-point configuration heightens this celestial character through its radiating symmetry, while the surrounding pointed ovals establish a measured procession around the center. Together, these elements give the rug an almost architectural quality—the field becomes a woven chamber whose ornament invites contemplation as much as admiration.

A stately cartouche border encloses the extraordinary masterpiece with repeating floral compartments, providing a formal framework for the profusion within. An outer guard border and inner double guard bands add successive layers of ornament, lending depth to the perimeter and completing its disciplined structure. Such complexity speaks to the sophisticated workshop tradition for which Tabriz weaving became renowned, where demanding curvilinear drawing could be translated into knotted wool with remarkable finesse. With its Ardabil-inspired iconography, monumental proportions, and richly articulated surface, this antique Persian Tabriz rug stands as an exquisite work of art—a tribute to the splendor of Safavid design created for an interior of distinction.

• Rendered in variegated shades of dark red, brick red, terra cotta, ink blue, olive, brown, coffee, tan, ecru, beige, olive, pink, navy blue, brass, taupe and accent colors.
• Abrash. Desirable Age Wear.
• Hand-knotted wool.
• Made in Iran (Persia).
• Measures: 14'07 x 21'07.
• Hotel Lobby Size Carpet 15 x 22 Rug.
• Date: 1890's. Late 19th Century.