Midtown Gallery and Framers now offers a selection of Persian rugs at incredible prices. These rugs are primarily vintage, semi-antique from the 1970's and earlier.

If you are looking for a unique rug, please come in and have a look at the ones we have collected. Our selection changes frequently, but we have a nice variety from runners to large sizes.

Different Rug Types:

BAKHTIARI RUGS

The Bakhtiari tribe settled into the Chahar Mahal area in the beginning of the 19th Century. This well known Persian tribe’s production of carpets greatly increased at this time. Today some of the most charming carpets available are made in the nearly 200 villages inhabited by the members of the ancient Bakhtiari tribe. The pattern of these rugs tends to be mostly geometric, sometimes semi-geometric. What distinguishes Bakhtiari rugs from other rugs is that they are bright and colorful, with crowded designs. The most common design consists of square, rectangular, diamond or hexagon compartments filled with a floral motif such as a willow tree, a cypress tree, a bush, a grapevine, a vase of flowers, or a bird sitting on a branch. Sometimes one motif repeats in several compartments; other times a motif is only seen in one compartment. Every compartment has a different motif and color from its neighboring compartments. Large medallions resembling Heriz medallions, vase, all-over boteh, and tree-of-life can also be found in Bakhtiari rugs.

BALUCHI RUGS

Baluchi Rugs are mainly woven by Baluchi tribal weavers in southwest Pakistan, northeast of Iran and northwest of Afghanistan. Baluchi rugs are mainly geometric. The Baluchi tree-of-life prayer rug is the most well known of all Baluchi designs. Other designs include repeating all-overs with floral morifs or repeating all-overs with abstract living creatures such as animals, birds and humans. The typical colors used in Baluchi rugs are red, dark blue, camel, beige and white. A common border design is a zigzag design also seen in Turkoman and Anatolian borders. Baluchi rugs are generally made in small sizes.

CAUCASIAN RUGS

Caucasian rugs are woven by tribal weavers of the region south of Russia, near the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black and Caspian Seas. This includes the countries of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and represents approximately 350 different tribes. Styles include the Kazak, Karabagh, Gendje, Talish, Shirvan, Baku, Kuba and Daghestan Common characteristics include the positioning of similar shapes in different sizes next to one another, as well as a colorful palette. Typical colors include blue, red, purple, yellow, green, navy, black and beige, and may be combined in one rug Patterns are very geometric, including stripes, crosses, squares, diamonds, hexagons, triangles, botehs, “S” shapes(derived from old dragon designs), animal figures such as crab and tarantula, and even geometric human forms. The crab figures are mainly woven in the borders. Shapes tend to be placed inside one another. For example, a diamond might be inside several bigger diamonds or other shapes. The layout could consist of a large single medallion, large multiple medallions, or it could be all-over. It is very common for steps and hooks to form the outer borders of the motifs. Most rugs tend to have several minor borders, which are filled with motifs. Sometimes the background is very crowded, though it could be solid.

HAMADAN RUGS

The city of Hamadan is 2500 years old, and in ancient times it was a city of considerable importance. Today, it is the capital of the district of the same name, and has long been one of the leading producers of rugs and carpets, most of which are produced exclusively by women.

HERIZ RUGS

Heriz is a city located in northwestern Iran, near the city of Tabriz. Heriz rugs have a unique style, easily distinguishable from other styles. The most famous design consists of a very large diamond medallion or star-like floral medallion with eight petals and corners very similar to the centerpiece medallion. These corners are sometimes square or rectangular. The pattern is almost always geometric. Usually the background is very crowded, although older rugs may have a plain background. Some Heriz rugs have an all-over layout with geometric floral motifs, though this is uncommon. The favorite colors of Heriz rug weavers consist of brownish red, light and dark pink, light and dark blue and ivory. Blue is normally used only for contrast.

ISFAHAN RUGS

Isfahan is known as one of the most beautiful and artistic cities in the world, and has been in exixtence for over 5000 years. It reached it’s cultural zenith during the 17th century. The carpets that have produced here for centuries have influenced those of all other workshops and continue to be of an extremely high
quality.

KASHAN RUGS

Kashan rugs are woven in workshops of the city of Kashan, in north central Iran. Their pattern is almost always curvilinear. One traditional design is an elongated diamond-shaped and lobed medallion with floral (usually Shah Abbasi) pendants. This design is one type of the Shah Abbasi medallion. The entire rug including the medallion itself, the corners, the borders, and the field are filled with Shah Abbasi and islimi motifs. It is common for this traditional design to have a navy medallion with similar corners and border in a red background or vise versa.

MALAYER RUGS

Malayer is a large rug-producing area near Borujird. The carpet designs created here draw inspiration from the older traditions of Ferahans and Sarouqs, but become a distinctive and finely balanced style that is purely Malayer.

NAIN RUGS

The city of Nain is located in the central Iranian province of Esfahan. Prior to the 1930’s, men’s cloaks were woven in this city. As cloaks went out of fashion, the rug industry replaced the cloak industry. Nain rugs are woren with the asymmetrical knot inside both workshops and homes, and are sold through the bazaars of the capital city of the province also named Esfahan. Nain rugs are known for their fine weave and extremely detailed curvilinear designs, often using animal motifs, especially birds, in the backgrounds. Another distinguishing trait is the use of the islimi motif. Common designs consist of star medallions, shah abbasi and islimi medallion-and-corner, all-over shah abbasi, mina-khani, and paneled(often curved panels). It is common to see floral and animal motifs inside the panels and even inside the compartments of the mina-khani. The shah abbasi motif is the most common border motif. In the shah abbasi and islimi medallion-and-corner designs, the medallion is frequently round and surrounded by about 16 shah abbasi motifs in a way that the medallion resembles the center of a large flower with petals. The background of the rug is filled with shah abbasi and islimi motifs. Each corner is a quarter of the circular medallion and is filled with shah abbasi motifs.

The restrained yet elegant palette of Nain rugs is distinctive. Colors tend to be muted. White, ivory, beige, buff, light gray, light blue, turquoise, navy light brown, camel and burgundy are the most common colors, with beige and navy the usual background colors.

SARAB RUGS

Sarab is located in the province of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran. Sarab is famous for good quality runners of 10 to 20 feet long and 3 feet wide, as well as doormat sized rugs..The pattern of Sarab is almost always geometric. The predominant layout is a long medallion and corners. The corners look similar to the medallion. Many times medallions are hex-column, meaning two or three hexagons attached to each other. The borderline of the medallion is zigzagged. The background is usually in camel hair left undyed or could occasionally be blue or red. The motifs are woven in red, brown, blue or buff. The background is usually not crowded.

TABRIZ RUGS

From the 11th century, Tabriz, the capital of the Eastern-Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran, was one of the world’s major cities and it became the capital of the ruling Mongol empire in the 13th century. At this time it became an important weaving center, but Tabriz did not become a leading producer of carpets until the 16th century. After a decline during the 18th century, the enterprising merchants of Tabriz re-established the industry on a workshop basis in the latter part of the 19th century.

Tabriz designs are the most diverse in Iran. They incorporate Persian and universal designs and motifs as well as their own interpretations of other designs, including shah abbasi medallion-and-corner, islimi medallion-and-corner, koran medallion-and-corner, Sheikh Safi medallion-and-corner(a medallion surrounded by 16 leaf-like pendants with two lamps connected to the medallion), paneled columns, animal, scenery, tree, all-over boteh, and all-over herati.

The palette of Tabriz rugs is diverse, ranging from vivid to pastel, and using numerous colors in one rug. Common background and border colors are pink, peach, camel, beige, ivory, red, motifs in blue, green, yellow, orange and lavender.