Persian Rug Moud 288 x 200 cm Wool Hand-knotted (Sold)

Moud Persian Rug

Material and Craftsmanship

This Moud rug is hand-knotted. Its structure is built knot by knot and row by row, with the individual knots inserted by hand into the prepared warp. Together they form the pile. This method distinguishes a hand-knotted rug from a mechanically produced floor covering. The construction combines a textile foundation with a surface created through the controlled placement of knots.

The pile consists of 97% virgin wool and 3% silk. The warp is 100% cotton. Wool and silk therefore belong to the pile, while cotton is used for the warp. The recorded knot density is 360,000 knots per square metre. This figure describes the compactness of the hand-knotted structure and is one of the specific technical characteristics of this piece.

Virgin wool has a long-established place in Persian rug making. It is a natural fibre with a resilient, tactile structure and can form a durable pile when properly worked. Silk is often introduced as a complementary fibre when a design or surface requires finer distinctions. In this rug, silk forms 3% of the pile alongside the predominant virgin wool.

Cotton is used as the warp material in many knotted rugs. The warp threads run lengthwise through the structure and provide the framework to which the knots are attached. A regularly tensioned warp supports an orderly progression of knot rows. In this piece, the warp is specified as entirely cotton and is clearly distinguished from the wool-and-silk pile.

The making of a hand-knotted rug involves the continuous interaction of warp, weft, knots and pile. After each row of knots, the structure is compacted and extended. The design develops gradually from many individual coloured knots. It is not printed onto the finished surface; it is part of the textile construction itself. Knot density is consequently relevant to the technical description and to the potential fineness of a drawn pattern.

A high knot density means that many individual knots occupy a defined area. It can support a closely organised pattern, but on its own it does not establish the rug’s age, colours, condition or the exact form of every ornament. For this rug, the relevant technical facts are its hand-knotted technique, its recorded density and the separate material descriptions for pile and warp.

Traditional hand-knotting also requires careful control of row alignment and warp tension as the work progresses. The pile is created gradually, while the design is translated into a sequence of coloured knots. This process explains why Persian rugs unite a structural textile method with an ornamental drawing. The construction of this piece is specifically identified as hand-knotted, with the pile and warp materials separately documented.

Origin and Tradition

The rug comes from Moud in Khorasan, Persia. Moud belongs to the historic carpet-making landscape of Khorasan, a broad region with its own weaving and knotting traditions. The origin statement connects the specific place Moud with the wider cultural area of Khorasan and with Persia, the country associated with the Persian knotting tradition. The rug is therefore a Persian rug.

Khorasan’s carpet culture has been shaped by a range of local practices. Towns and workshops developed preferences for proportions, ornament and technical execution, while remaining part of a wider Persian exchange of designs and craft knowledge. A regional designation consequently refers not only to geography, but also to an established relationship between drawing, materials and methods of production.

Moud rugs are associated with ordered compositions and careful pattern work. Designs are not separate from the craft that produces them. A drawn plan must be translated during knotting into individual knots and successive rows. Preparing the warp, maintaining the sequence and controlling the tension are all part of turning a pattern into a finished textile surface.

Khorasan has a long history as a cultural region in eastern Persia. For centuries, towns, rural workshops and trading routes connected different communities within the area. Such connections allowed motifs, colours and techniques to circulate, while local workshops retained their own approaches. The variety of Khorasan rugs reflects this coexistence of shared Persian vocabulary and regional individuality.

Persian rugs are traditionally built on a loom. The warp forms the lengthwise structure, while knots and weft develop the width and pile. Knot types, row construction and finishing methods may vary across regional traditions. The knowledge involved is handed down through practical instruction and repeated work. It includes not only tying knots, but also reading a design and maintaining its proportions as the rug grows.

A medallion rug requires several parts of the composition to be coordinated. The central form, corner areas, field and borders cannot be treated as unrelated surfaces. Their proportions establish the rhythm of the entire design. The weaver must therefore translate a two-dimensional arrangement into a continuous textile structure while preserving the relationship between its major sections.

Moud identifies the stated origin of this rug. Khorasan gives the broader regional context, and Persia identifies the country associated with its Persian rug tradition. These details are distinct from the pattern name. A place name occurring within a pattern description does not by itself establish provenance; here the origin is separately given as Moud, Khorasan, Persia.

The history of Persian rugs brings together use, craft and ornament. Rugs could organise interior spaces, provide warmth and display a regional visual language. Their patterns were developed in workshops, families and local communities. The tradition is therefore not a fixed formula repeated without change, but a system of inherited forms that individual weavers interpret through their own work.

A Moud rug belongs within this regional expression of Persian knotting. The name refers to a place and to a developed carpet culture, not simply to an abstract decorative style. In this piece, origin, hand-knotted construction and the specifically named Moud medallion composition appear together. No additional claims about a workshop, weaver, date of manufacture or former setting are made.

Design and Pattern

The pattern is identified as a Lachak-Toranj Moud medallion. This describes a composition with a toranj, or central medallion, and Lachak elements in the corner areas. The centre forms the principal focus of the field. The corner sections connect that focus with the four surrounding sides of the field.

A medallion organises a rug through a clear visual hierarchy. Unlike an evenly repeated all-over pattern, it provides an identifiable centre. The relationship between that centre, the corners, the side areas and the enclosing border governs the arrangement. The composition gains a focal point while the surrounding ornaments complete the field.

Toranj is a Persian term for a central medallion form. Such forms may be assembled from curved lines, leaves, vines and other ornamental units. The actual treatment depends on the individual drawing. For this rug, the recorded pattern is specifically Lachak-Toranj Moud medallion. That name identifies the design family and its Moud association without adding unrecorded claims about particular colours or individual motifs.

Within Persian carpet vocabulary, Lachak refers to the corner sections or the shaped zones extending from the corners. In a medallion composition, these areas fill the field and respond to the central form. They act as a counterweight to the toranj and help complete the field near its edges. The result is a relationship between centre and perimeter that is characteristic of many Persian medallion designs.

A classic Persian carpet design often contains a central field and one or more enclosing borders. The field carries the main composition. Borders frame it, guide the eye along the sides and create a transition toward the outer edge. A design may include a principal border and narrower guard borders, although the number and exact arrangement are not specified for this piece. In general, the frame allows a central composition to be read as a coherent surface.

Designing a medallion requires coordination of symmetry, repetition and transition. The centre must fit the available field, while the corner areas balance its presence. Smaller ornamental units can connect larger forms. During knotting, this order is built from individual knots. The recorded density of 360,000 knots per square metre provides a technical basis for a finely organised drawing, but it does not determine every line or ornament in the specific design.

Moud pattern traditions are associated with structured ornament and carefully related areas of the field. Floral lines, vines, leaves and more geometric framing devices can be brought together within the broader Persian vocabulary. These elements are placed in an overall relationship between field and border. The character of such a composition lies in the interaction of its parts rather than in one isolated sign.

The name Lachak-Toranj Moud medallion therefore identifies both the formal structure and its Moud association. Lachak points to the corner zones, Toranj to the central medallion and Moud to the named regional design tradition. The origin statement, Moud, Khorasan, Persia, remains separate. The rug can consequently be described as a Moud Persian rug with a Lachak-Toranj Moud medallion without confusing design terminology and provenance.

The word medallion also distinguishes the layout from a field filled evenly from edge to edge. It signals a focal arrangement in which the central form governs the surrounding organisation. Lachak and Toranj together describe the balance between corner treatment and central emphasis. The Moud designation names the regional pattern language recorded for this rug, while the stated origin places the piece in Moud, Khorasan, Persia.

Special Features

One of the rug’s technical characteristics is its knot density of 360,000 knots per square metre. Together with the hand-knotted construction, this describes a carefully built pile structure. The pile combines 97% virgin wool with 3% silk, while the warp is 100% cotton. The distinction between pile and warp is an essential part of the recorded material description.

The condition is described as washed to near-new condition with minimal patina at the edge. This presents the rug as very well maintained while drawing attention to a small amount of patina at the border area. The photographs show this detail and supplement the written condition description. No broader wear or additional condition issue is recorded.

The connection between origin and pattern is another defining characteristic. The rug comes from Moud in Khorasan, Persia, and carries a Lachak-Toranj Moud medallion. Provenance and composition are named together but are not the same claim. The piece is also identified as original and marked as sold.

The principal special features of this individual rug are therefore its origin, hand-knotted technique, pile and warp materials, recorded knot density, named medallion design and described condition. Information about its age, workshop, signature or restoration is not included in the description and is not added here.

The combination of a wool-and-silk pile, cotton warp, dense hand-knotting and a central Moud medallion gives the rug a defined technical and design profile. The condition note adds a specific observation about the edge rather than an undefined general assessment. These characteristics can be considered together without making further claims about colour, date or provenance.

FAQ

Where does the rug come from?

The rug comes from Moud in Khorasan, Persia. Moud is the stated origin of this piece, while Khorasan supplies the broader regional and historical context within Persian rug making. The origin is separate from the pattern name: the Moud medallion describes the design, whereas the provenance identifies Moud, Khorasan, Persia.

Which materials were used?

The pile consists of 97% virgin wool and 3% silk. The warp is made from 100% cotton. Wool and silk therefore form the pile, while cotton is used for the warp. The rug is hand-knotted and has a knot density of 360,000 knots per square metre.

What is the condition of the rug?

The rug is described as washed to near-new condition with minimal patina at the edge. It has been washed and is presented in a very well-kept condition, while a minimal amount of patina remains at the edge. The photographs are specifically referenced for viewing this detail and should be considered alongside the written condition description.