Antique Persian Heriz Rug Size: 7'1" × 9'7" Date: 1920s Material: Wool on Cotton Most Heriz rugs follow the classic medallion format. This one doesn't, and that's what makes it interesting. The ivory field is covered with an all-over repeat of angular geometric and zoomorphic forms — stylized birds, hooked devices, geometric crosses, and abstracted animal figures arranged in a loose grid across the entire surface. There is a faint central medallion suggested by the layout, but the eye reads the field as a continuous pattern rather than a composition anchored to a centre point. The ivory ground is unusual for Heriz production, which typically favours madder red, and it gives this rug a lighter, more graphic quality than the typical example from the region. The motifs in dark navy, burgundy, madder, and slate blue read with sharp clarity against the pale field. The overall effect has something of the tribal scatter-pattern sensibility more often associated with Kurdish or Caucasian weaving, which likely reflects the cultural cross-pollination of the northwest Persian region. The wide madder border carries bold geometric forms — serrated leaves, angular medallions, and geometric devices — that frame the field with appropriate weight. A well-preserved and distinctly individual piece that offers something different from the standard Heriz format.