Rugs, Carpets and Medallions

Medallions are decorative parts of many rugs and their designs. They come in all shapes and sizes and in some cases we may see a combination of several medallions and shapes in one rug. They may be square, octagon, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, polygons, rectangle, triangle, circle, lozenge, diamond or in some strange shapes for which there maybe no names.

In some rugs, medallions are quartered into four corners of the rugs. Sometimes these corners follow the same patterns and designs and in some cases these corners have no dissemblance to the medallions at all. I did a little bit of research but found no specific definitions and descriptions of rugs and carpets medallions. However I had heard from a rug researcher about 15 years ago that medallions in old Persian rug designs stand for the universe and the center of the universe which is unity and eternal God. This makes sense.

here I am posting several pictures of different types of medallions of Persian rugs. I mention the origin of each rug for those who may want to do some research and add to the very little knowledge which is available on the history, mystery and definition of "medallions".

A unique medallion in a multi-medallion Qaradjeh runner, north west Iran

A diamond shape medallion in an antique Sarab runner, north west Iran

Turtle/crab shape medallion on a Hamedan carpet from north west Iran

A colorful octagon shape medallion from Sarab carpet of north west Iran

A lozenge shape medallion of a Nahavand kallegi on Hamedan provine, north west Iran

Octagon shape medallion inside a rectangular medallion on an Ardabil rug from north west Iran

Square medallion on a Qaradjeh rug from north west Iran

Lozenge diamond shape medallion on a Roodbar runner from the province of Hameda, north west Iran

Hexagon shape medallion on a Qaradjeh carpet from north west Iran

A kind of hexagon shape medallion on a Meshkin carpet from north west Iran, province of Ardabil

Lozenge shape medallion, Sarouk carpet made by Iran Carpet Company with natural dye

A circle round medallion of a Kashan rug

Circular round medallion of an antique Hadji Jalili rug from Tabriz north west Iran

A hexagonal shape medallion of a Malayer runner from the province of Hamedan north west Iran

A geometric polygonal medallion of a Hamedan runner from north west Iran

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085