Midcentury Persian Tabriz Copper, Beige, Salmon and Inky Blue Handmade Wool Rug BB6097 7'5" × 9'5" $20,000

This circa-1930 antique Persian Tabriz rug features an all-over design of stunning, elaborate arabesques and floral motifs among curling abstractions in shades of beige and salmon, accented by inky blue. Classic Oriental rug weaving themes such as the boteh, a paisley shape representing a leaf or a pinecone, can be seen in the main border of the antique carpet.

The famous textile-manufacturing city of Tabriz, the Azerbaijani-populated province in the north west of Iran, boasts one of the oldest rug weaving centers in the world and produces a large variety of carpets characterized by having an especially fine knot density (indicative of high quality hand-knotted antique kilim rugs). An antique Tabriz rug can be made of cotton or silk and woven as a pile carpet or flat-weave. A refined palette reliant on copper tones, terracotta and ivory, with shades of blue and subtle touches of gold, green and salmon are prevalent in these carpets.