Rugsville Classic Serapi Oriental Red & Rust Wool Persian Carpet 9' x 12'

The Serapi was the high end of the Heriz weaving district in north-west Iran in the late nineteenth century. Where standard Heriz pieces leaned on a few stable patterns and consistent weave, the Serapi was looser, larger in scale, and softer in palette, with the central medallion drawn at a size that would carry across an Anglo-American drawing room. The pattern in front of you descends directly from that lineage, redrawn at workshop scale and tied into hand-knotted wool by Indian weavers trained in the Persian asymmetric knot.

Three weavers shared the 9' x 12' (274 x 366 cm) loom for roughly five months. The pile is hand-spun wool, drawn from highland fleece for length and resilience, and the foundation is cotton, warped on a vertical beam to a uniform tension. Each knot was tied by feel and combed down before the next row, and the dyes were prepared in copper vats before the wool was lowered for colouring.

The composition

A central medallion in faded brick rust sits on a deep red ground, surrounded by ivory corner spandrels and a layered border in indigo and bone. The reds carry the gentle irregularity that natural-dyed wool always brings, deepening in some passages and lifting in others. Over the next decade the rust will warm and the indigos will settle. A Serapi does not arrive complete; it arrives ready to start.

What you are buying

Antique Serapi and Heriz carpets in equivalent condition and scale sell through Christie's, Sotheby's, and Rippon Boswell at attribution prices in the range of twenty to fifty thousand US dollars when they appear at all. This is a new weaving in the same tradition, on the same kind of loom, in the same fibre, to comparable density. The Western dealer market is firmer still. Hand-knotted wool on cotton appreciates with use rather than depreciating. There is no other floor object with that property.

The piece in a room

9' x 12' (274 x 366 cm) is the canonical drawing-room and dining-room scale. The Serapi expects a long sofa run with armchairs above the medallion or a generous dining table set on the field. Mid-tone walls hold the saturation; cream walls let the red sing. Direct sunlight helps over time; UV restores dye depth that interior light slowly washes out.

Conservation

Rotate the rug a half turn each spring and autumn so light and traffic age the piece evenly. Vacuum weekly with the beater bar disengaged. Blot spills with a clean cotton cloth, never rub. Schedule a hand-wash by a wool-trained conservator every five years. With this care the carpet runs eighty to a hundred years and outlives its first owners.

Reference

• Medium: hand-knotted wool on cotton foundation
• Dimensions: 274 x 366 cm (9' x 12')
• Construction: Persian asymmetric knot
• Hands: 3 weavers, ~5 months
• Pile: 6 to 12 mm, hand-spun wool
• Origin: India

Free shipping anywhere in India. Cash on delivery available. 7-day exchange after the crate is opened.