Antique Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran | 145 x 69 cm | Nr. Z-3334

Floral antique Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran, dark blue with border

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	145 cm x 69 cm (= 1.0005 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	420.000
Pile height	7mm
Year of manufacture	1920
Colour	Dark blue, rust red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

This rug comes from the small town of Mohajeran, which lies between the cities of Sarough (also Sarouk, Saruk or Sarogh) and Hamadan. Sarough is one of Iran's best-known rug-knotting regions. Situated in the west Persian province of Aarak, it takes in the provenances of Arak, Djozan, Ghiasabad, Mahal, Malayer, Mohajeran, Sultanabad and Wiss. In Sarough, Persian patterns of every kind are knotted, some of them to the buyer's own specifications. Weavers are especially fond of the neighbouring Farahan designs as well as their own Sultanabad patterns and the so-called Mir-i-Boteh pattern made up of paisley motifs. Typical of Sarough rugs is the excellent wool quality of the pile, as the new wool comes from the Persian highlands. The foundation – warp and weft – is usually cotton, however. In old and antique pieces 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 the so-called American Saroughs, knotted between 1900 and 1940 specifically for the American market. The colours of the American Saroughs are pared back to rust, red, blue and a few brown and beige tones, and they carry a floral pattern that usually manages without a central medallion. In the 1970s these pieces also became hugely popular in Iran and were re-imported there. Hence the name. Only a very few pieces made their way from Iran on to Europe. That is why the pieces first re-imported to Iran are particularly rare. This antique Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran is a collector's piece. It is around 100 years old and for that reason alone a truly special piece. Antique rugs like this Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Pattern

The edge of the rug is framed by a surround (border). The border forms a splendid contrast to the centre.

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

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

Condition

You are not the first to take a liking to this Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran. It had owners before you who treasured and used it. Parts of the border are missing on both sides. Fringes were added to both ends at a later date. It was hand-knotted around 1920. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with great care. Despite its age, it is therefore in very good condition.

Material

The technique used to prepare the materials for the pile of this Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran is over 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant dyes is more involved, more costly 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 dye per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that is not too pale, you even need two kilograms of the dyestuff weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is labour-intensive and time-consuming too. On top of that, fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyed with natural colours, the high-quality wool keeps its natural lanolin content. Wool dyed with natural colours and spun by hand produces fascinating, shimmering 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-house style. The weft and warp threads of this Re-Import Sarough Mohajeran are cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and elastic, which makes it ideal for a hard-wearing foundation.