Antique Black Persian Navy Mohajeran Sarouk Area Rug Wool Circa 1910

Design: Sarouk

Sarouk rugs have been produced for much of the twentieth century. The early successes of the Sarouk rug are largely owed to the American market. From the 1910s to the 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 color, so for much of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, rugs exported from Iran were dyed to a desirable, deep, raspberry-red color, 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 Iran and exported them to other countries. They used the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran to export these antiques to Europe via Erzurum in Turkey. Some merchants also used the southern ports on the Persian Gulf to export Persian rugs to the US by ship.