Antique Sarouk rug

Description

Beautiful antique American Sarouk rug or ‘Pushti’ (which is Persan for small mat). Well drawn traditional floral Persian design with soft pinks, purple hues and royal blues. Sarouks were woven in the village of Saruk in the Arak region of Persia.  In good pile all over with ends and sides secure, a great little decorative rug from the early 20th century.

Sarouk rugs have been produced for much of the 20th century. The early successes of the Sarouk rug are largely owed to the American market. From the 1910s to 1950s, the “American Sarouk”, also known as the “painted Sarouk”, was produced.  American customers had an affinity for the Sarouk’s curvilinear and floral designs. What they did not appreciate, however, was the colour, so for much of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, rugs exported from Persia were dyed to a desirable, deep, raspberry-red colour, once they arrive in the USA.

In the second half of the 19th century, a huge market was created for Persian carpets in Europe and in the US. Many merchants bought the old and antique Persian rugs from all over Persia and exported them to other countries. They used the city of Tabriz in northwest Persia to export these rugs to Europe via Erzurum in Turkey, which is also famous for beautiful antique kilims.