Heriz rug (cotton warp and weft, wool pile), Northwest Persia, circa 1930-1960 (Wear and old restorations.) Length: 357 cm; Width: 267 cm (approx.) The carpet is embellished with numerous rosettes, polychrome flowers and geometric leaves on a red background. A wide navy blue border with flower garlands is framed by two counter-borders. Heriz lies northeast of Tabriz (...). At the end of the 19th century, Tabriz merchants, always on the lookout for cheap labor, set up a number of factories here, producing large, solid carpets (...).) The decorative theme introduced to Heriz by the Tabriz merchants was classical, with a medallion and spandrels; but the Heriz weavers refused the use of cartoons, which did not correspond to their traditions, and continued to weave their carpets by executing the design from memory or sometimes with the help of small vagireh (small carpets used by the weavers as a model and therefore adorned with a vast sampling of field and border designs). This approach led to a simplification of the medallion floral design, which was then represented geometrically.