Red Kashan Shahi Persian Rug
This red Kashan Shahi Persian rug is a 298 x 235 cm piece, hand knotted in Iran from wool. Its rust-red ground is covered with navy cartouches, cream motifs and grey-blue connecting arms, set out as a repeating lattice across the whole field. The colours are warm and strong, and navy and cream give the pattern its shape.
The design up close
This red Kashan Shahi Persian rug repeats one motif across the whole field, with no single central medallion. Navy angled cartouches hold cream and beige motifs, flowers and small geometric blocks. Grey-blue arms run diagonally between them, and gold cross-shaped connectors sit where the arms meet, so the rug reads as one continuous network.
The border is narrow. A band of small leaves and teeth in cream, rust and blue runs along each edge, framing the field without drawing the eye away from the lattice. Across the rug the navy cartouches fall into rows, and the red between them carries the warmth through the room.
Kashan and this lattice design
Kashan lies between Tehran and Isfahan, and its workshops were famous by the 16th and 17th centuries, when Persian court carpets reached their height. The classic Kashan layout is a central medallion with matching corner pieces, set in a field of flowers and vines and framed by several borders. This red Kashan Shahi Persian rug follows a different plan, with an all-over lattice, so it sits apart from the medallion rugs Kashan is best known for.
How this red Kashan Shahi Persian rug is made
Our records note hand knotting, and this rug is hand knotted in Iran from wool. Kashan rugs are usually finely knotted with the asymmetrical (Persian) knot, on a cotton foundation, with a short, dense pile. Many Kashans use soft, lustrous wool, and some fine pieces include silk. Wool is soft and resilient, which suits a rug for daily use.
Sizing it for your room
At 298 x 235 cm the rug covers about 7.0 square metres, a good size for a formal living room. A three-seat sofa of around 2.2 m leaves about 39 cm of rug showing past each end. For a dining room, a table of about 180 x 90 cm leaves roughly 59 cm at each end and about 73 cm along each side. A red Kashan Shahi Persian rug this size suits a dining room with enough space for chairs to slide back.
A red Kashan Shahi Persian rug suits traditional rooms with dark timber, or rooms with cream walls and plain sofas where the pattern can lead. The lattice covers the field evenly, so the rug looks much the same from each side of the room.
Looking after your rug
Vacuum it on a suction-only setting, or with the beater bar switched off, so the brush does not pull at the knots. Turn it around every six to twelve months so sun and foot traffic wear it evenly. Blot spills with a clean white cloth and cold water rather than rubbing them in. When it needs a full clean, choose a cleaner who washes handmade rugs by hand.
Put a good underlay beneath it. It stops the rug sliding on timber or tiles, adds cushioning and takes some of the wear off the pile. Moths like wool in dark, quiet spots, such as the part of a rug under a sofa, so vacuum those areas often and lift the furniture now and then.
See it before you buy
Visit our showroom at 307 Penshurst St, North Willoughby, open every day from 11 am to 4:30 pm, to see this red Kashan Shahi Persian rug in person. If you would rather judge it in your own room, with your own light and furniture, book an in-home viewing and we will bring a selection to you.
Browse more Kashan Rugs, or ask about a custom made rug in your own size and colour. Read more about Kashan rugs.
