Torkaman Mari Gol Elephant Foot Persian Rug, Late 20th Century

A Turkoman Persian rug from north-east Iran, hand-knotted in fine wool in the late 20th century, in the Tekke elephant foot design known as Bokhara.

Rows of octagonal Tekke guls, the elephant’s feet, run in quartered ivory, rust-brown and black across a field of clear scarlet, with small cross-shaped minor guls between them. Wide end panels carry the tribe’s latch-hook and diamond bands, and a narrow guard border holds the whole. It is the pattern the Tekke Turkoman have woven for two centuries, drawn here with the precision of a fine, dense weave.

The wool is what sets this one apart. Turkoman fleece has an unusually long, lustrous staple, and this rug was chosen for it: the pile is dense and springy, with a natural sheen across the whole surface. It is knotted on a cotton foundation and thin-wefted in the Turkoman manner, which keeps a rug of this size supple underfoot.

The pile is full and even across the whole rug, the fringes are the ones it was woven with, and it has never needed repair.

At 399 by 301cm it is a full room size, twelve square metres, and suits a living room or a large dining space. View it in our Richmond gallery, or explore more vintage Persian rugs.