Provenance and Knotting Tradition

Karaja is a village in the Heriz district, in the highlands of northwestern Iran near the Azerbaijani border. Karaja pieces share the geometric vocabulary of the Heriz family — stepped medallions, bold motifs, architectural borders — but they are typically smaller in format and carry a more tribal, village register than the major-format Heriz workshop pieces. They are valued for the directness of village weaving combined with the architectural readability of the Heriz design family.

This piece was hand-knotted around the 1960s in the Karaja village from hand-spun highland wool on a cotton foundation. The highland wool of the region is naturally rich in lanolin, giving the surface a soft sheen and natural resistance to wear. It is a genuine collector's village piece in excellent, full-pile condition.

Colour and Composition

The composition follows the classical Karaja layout: three stepped medallions arranged on a vertical axis down a densely filled brick-red field. The upper and lower medallions are angular, star-form panels with central floral rosettes; the smaller middle medallion is a navy-and-ivory hexagon. The medallions are outlined in light ice-blue, set against a field scattered with geometric blossoms, little cypress and tree forms and hooked motifs. A navy main border of geometric vines and leaves frames the field, flanked by lighter guard borders. The palette carries brick to tomato red, navy and ice blue, ivory, green and rust-orange with honey and brown accents — the classic Azeri triad enriched by village colour.

Presence in the Room

At 195 × 147 cm (2.87 m²) this is a generous small-to-medium room-size piece. Three contexts in which it reaches its full effect:

• Modern loft or city apartment: The bold geometric architecture pairs particularly well with raw concrete, blackened steel, oak and leather.
• Library or study: The stepped medallions read as a clear architectural axis in a room of books and panelling.
• Bedroom anchor: Beside or at the foot of a bed in a room with warm lighting, the red and navy become a quiet, structural counterpoint.

Specifications

Responsible Origin · Label STEP

Djoharian is a certified partner of Label STEP, the international fair-trade organisation for hand-knotted rugs. STEP audits production conditions on the ground — wages, working environment, no child labour — and tracks pieces from loom to dealer.

Djoharian — Since 1967

Our family business was founded in 1967, with roots in the Grand Carpet Bazaar of Tehran — five decades of trade and connoisseurship behind every piece we offer.

Service

Secure and fast worldwide shipping, fully insured. Each piece is professionally inspected, washed and shipped with a certificate of authenticity. We are available for any questions on placement, care, or comparable pieces.