Old Re-Import Sarough | 121 x 64 cm | Nr. 11044

Floral old re-import Sarough, all-over patterned in rust red with a central medallion and border

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	121 cm x 64 cm (= 0.77 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (natural colours) Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	250.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	1920
Colour	Rust red, Dark blue
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

This rug comes from Sarough (also spelled Sarouk, Saruk or Sarogh). Sarough is one of the best-known rug-knotting regions in Iran. Located in the western Persian province of Aarak, it takes in the provenances Arak, Djozan, Ghiasabad, Mahal, Malayer, Mohajeran, Sultanabad and Wiss. Persian patterns of every kind are knotted in Sarough, in some cases to the buyer's own specifications. Weavers there are especially fond of the neighbouring Farahan designs, of their own Sultanabad patterns and of the so-called Mir-i-Boteh pattern made up of paisley motifs. Typical of this type of rug is the very good wool quality of the pile, as the new wool comes from the Persian highlands. The foundation – warp and weft – is, however, usually made of cotton. In old and antique rugs you will often find a blue weft thread. The knotting is very fine and the pile relatively high.

Especially sought after by collectors are the old and antique rugs of the Mahal and Malayer types that were knotted in Sarough between 1880 and 1930.

A special chapter in Iranian rug knotting is written by the so-called American Sarouks, which were knotted between 1900 and 1940 specifically for the American market. The colours of the American Sarouks are pared down to rust, red, blue and a few brown and beige tones, and they carry a floral pattern that usually does without a central medallion. In the 1970s these pieces became very popular in Iran as well and were re-imported there. Hence the name. Only a very few pieces found their way from Iran to Europe. That is what makes the pieces first re-imported into Iran so rare. This old Re-Import Sarough is around 100 years old and a real collector's piece.

Pattern

The lavish floral motifs of this Re-Import Sarough are elegantly drawn and full of variety. The graceful plant symbols, depicting blossoms, leaves and branches, are artfully intertwined.

The decorated surround (border) forms a beautiful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

The repeating pattern (known as an all-over or rapport pattern) flatters the design of the room and never draws attention away from the furniture, the decoration or the architectural elements. It creates a pleasant atmosphere without dominating the style of the room. In this re-import Sarough the repeating elements find their centre in the middle of the field, with its symmetrical medallion.

The background of this Re-Import Sarough is rust red. The border is worked in dark blue and rust red.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Re-Import Sarough. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. It was hand-knotted around 1920. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good, though only partly restored, condition. One corner of this piece is damaged. The ends have been shortened on both sides and the fringes renewed. In places the pile is heavily worn and it also shows moth damage. We have not fully restored this Re-Import Sarough, because we feel it has a special presence exactly as it is. If you would like us to, we will of course gladly carry the restoration further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.

Material

The technique used to dye the wool for the pile of this Re-Import Sarough is more than 200 years old. Dyeing with natural or plant-based dyes is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that isn't too pale, it even takes two kilograms of weld dye per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as time-consuming and labour-intensive. On top of that, fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool dyed with natural colours creates fascinating, shifting patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. The weft and warp threads of this Re-Import Sarough are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it especially well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.