Rugsville Classic Designer Serapi Red Wool Persian Carpet 8' x 10'

Serapi carpets emerged from the Heriz weaving tradition of north-western Iran in the late 1800s and rapidly became the most sought-after Persian rugs in the European and American markets. They are distinguished from their Heriz cousins by their more open compositions, larger central medallions, and more saturated red and rust palette. The pattern in this rug carries that lineage forward in disciplined classical drawing, with a rich Serapi red ground supporting a generous central medallion and corner spandrels.

Three weavers shared the loom for close to six months. Highland fleece was hand carded and hand spun into yarn, then dyed in small batches with the deep madder reds and walnut rusts that define the Serapi palette. Each Persian asymmetric knot was tied by hand against the warp and beaten flat with a steel comb. After the carpet came off the loom it was sheared by hand to even the surface and washed to set the dye and lift the lanolin to the pile.

The composition

A deep Serapi red ground. A central medallion in cream and ivory with vine work radiating outward. Corner spandrels picking up the medallion palette in mirror. The border is restrained, classical, and proportioned to support the field rather than to compete with it. As the rug ages the red will lift slightly toward rust at the edges and deepen toward garnet at the centre, the cream will warm into bone, and the wool will gain a soft lanolin sheen under regular use.

What you are buying

Antique Serapi carpets with late nineteenth or early twentieth century attribution and clean condition routinely sell at international auction in the 8 to 25 lac range. New weavings in the same tradition, on the same loom geometry, in the same hand-spun wool, list with Western dealers between 4 and 10 lac rupees. The rug appreciates with use rather than depreciating, which is the property that distinguishes a serious carpet from a furnishing.

The piece in a room

8' x 10' (244 x 305 cm) is the canonical Serapi format and was developed for the formal Anglo-American drawing room. Place a long sofa with two flanking chairs above the field, or a six-seat dining table with the chairs entirely on the rug. The Serapi red holds best against ivory or bone walls, against oiled walnut, against brass, and against unbleached linen upholstery. Avoid placing it under strongly coloured curtains or competing artwork.

Conservation

Rotate a half turn each spring and autumn so the field ages evenly under light and traffic. Vacuum weekly on suction only with the beater bar disengaged. Blot spills with cotton immediately, never rub the pile. Have the carpet hand washed by a wool-trained conservator every five years. Cared for this way the rug runs eighty to a hundred years.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted hand-spun wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 244 x 305 cm (8' x 10')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot, classical Serapi cartoon
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~6 months
• Pile: low to medium, hand sheared
• Origin: India

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