Old Sarough | 204 x 131 cm | Nr. 12520

Floral old Sarough, rust red with border and medallion

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	204 cm x 131 cm (= 2.67 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	360.000
Pile height	4mm
Year of manufacture	1950
Colour	Rust red, Dark blue
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

This rug comes from Sarough (also Sarouk, Saruk or Sarogh). Sarough is one of Iran's best-known rug-knotting regions. Located in the west Persian province of Aarak, it takes in the provenances Arak, Djozan, Ghiasabad, Mahal, Malayer, Mohajeran, Sultanabad and Wiss. In Sarough, Persian patterns of every kind are knotted, in part also to the specifications of the customer. Especially popular are the neighbouring Farahan designs, the region's own Sultanabad patterns and the so-called Mir-i-Boteh pattern made up of paisley motifs. Typical of this class 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. This old Sarough is around 70 years old and a real collector's piece.

Pattern

The lavish floral motifs of this Sarough are elegant and wonderfully varied. 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.

At the heart of this Sarough's central field lies the symmetrical centrepiece, also known as the medallion. The design of the field is subordinate to the medallion, so that the medallion seems to float on the field.

The background of this Sarough is rust red. The border is worked in dark blue, dusky pink and beige. In the dark blue centre, blue-grey and beige are combined.

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Sarough. It had owners before you who treasured and used it. It was hand-knotted around 1950. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good, though only partially restored, condition. Apart from fringes that have become very short in places and slightly worn areas along the edges and fringes, this piece is well preserved. We have not fully restored this Sarough, because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If that is what you would like, we are of course happy to restore the rug further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to a near-perfect condition.

Material

The pile of this Sarough was hand-knotted from high-quality new wool. New wool is obtained by gently shearing sheep. New wool is a renewable, natural raw material with a number of impressive properties: thanks to the wool's natural lanolin content, the surface repels droplets of water and is thus naturally protected against dirt. Wool also offers excellent thermal insulation, helps regulate the indoor climate and dampens sound. The weft and warp threads of this Sarough are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic and therefore particularly well suited to a hard-wearing foundation.