A Serapi Carpet

Fine 19th-century antique Serapi carpet of Persia. Woven in the rugged mountains of Northwest Persia, Serapi rugs are a distinct Heriz region style, with finer knotting and more large-scale spaciously placed antique carpet designs than other rugs from this area. Persian carpets had to be taken by their weavers to Serab, 30 miles distant, to be marketed. “Serapi” is not a place or tribal name; rather it is a market term derived from “Serab-i,” meaning “of Serab”. The bold geometric designs are probably connected to the tribal Caucasian traditions across the Aras River to the north. The weaving was done almost exclusively by women. Highly skilled artisans, they continually reinterpreted the design as they wove, the antique Serapi rugs made in small workshops .