Pictorial rug

A pictorial rug shows a picture rather than a pattern: a scene, a portrait, buildings or figures from poetry and history. In 19th-century Persia favourite subjects were scenes from Ferdowsi's Shahnameh and Nezami's Khamseh and historic Persian figures, and from about the 1870s European subjects copied from prints and postcards.

Also figural · scene · Hooshang Shahi · Hooshang Shah · Bahram Gur · Persepolis

See also Shekargah (hunting design), Lion rug (gabbeh-ye shiri), Animals and figures

Last reviewed November 2026