Persian Tabriz Rugs – Vintage & Antique Hand-Knotted Rugs
Vintage hand-knotted Tabriz rugs, known for fine weaving, curvilinear medallions, and refined city-workshop craftsmanship.
Choosing a vintage Tabriz rug
Tabriz weavers produced a wide variety of designs, from detailed central medallions to intricate allover patterns. When comparing one-of-a-kind pieces, look closely at the scale of the design, the wool pile, the condition of the edges and the rug’s exact measurements. Age and natural colour variation can give each piece its own character.
For room placement, explore our larger area rugs or consult the rug measuring guide. Each available rug has its own photographs, dimensions and condition details.
The Tabriz Weaving Tradition
Tabriz is one of Persia's oldest and most historically significant rug-weaving cities, located in the East Azerbaijan province and long established as a major hub on the Silk Road trade routes. Unlike the village and tribal weaving traditions that produced rugs primarily for daily household use, Tabriz developed as a true workshop city — professional master weavers working from detailed cartoons (paper patterns) rather than memory, which allowed for the fine, curvilinear medallion and floral designs the city became famous for. That workshop tradition shows up directly in construction. Tabriz Persian rugs are typically double-wefted on a cotton foundation, a more labor-intensive technique than the single-wefted village weaves of regions like Hamadan, and one that allows for significantly higher knot density. The result is a rug capable of rendering intricate, curving detail — sweeping vine work, refined corner medallions, elaborate borders — with a level of precision that geometric tribal weaves simply aren't built for. Because Tabriz has functioned as a major weaving center for centuries, quality within the group varies more than in smaller regional traditions — from well-made commercial pieces to exceptionally fine examples with silk highlights and museum-level knot counts. What unites genuine vintage Tabriz Persian rugs is that same foundation of technical skill: elegant, restrained designs built to reward close inspection, made to last for generations rather than a single decade. Every piece in this collection is a genuine vintage Persian rug, hand-selected for structural soundness and authentic craftsmanship — no two are alike.
