Carpets - Sun Medallion
Size: 196x130 cm
Origin and time: Farahan, first half of the 14th century
Carpet Museum of Iran, Tehran
No. of Raj: 50
This rug, produced in Farahan, a village located in the province of Markazi in central Iran, presents a geometric pattern typical for this area. Two types can be distinguished: the first is characterised by an all-over layout, usually endlessly repeated motifs or designs such as herati, gul, theboteh or the mina-khani pattern.
The second type is characterized by its medallion layout. This medallion can consist of large hexagons, diamonds, or oval shapes with large pendants. A special kind of medallion design, displayed also in this rug, is the sunburst medallion, a large, serrated circular medallion similar to a radiating sun. A small section of a medallion identical to the centre medallion is woven at each end of the rug, interrupted by the border. A typical phenomenon of these rugs is the herati motif, displaying flowers centred in a diamond with curving leaves that stretch beyond the diamond shapes, and the gul motif, both commonly used.
Indigo blue, dark and other shades of green, yellow and orange-red are dominating colours. Black or deep blue are used for outlining the motifs.