Rugs, Carpets and Medallions

kash.sobhe

January 29, 2012

Medallions are decorative parts of many rugs and their designs. They come in all shapes and sizes and in some cases we may see a combination of several medallions and shapes in one rug. They may be square, octagon, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, polygons, rectangle, triangle, circle, lozenge, diamond or in some strange shapes for which there maybe no names.

In some rugs, medallions are quartered into four corners of the rugs. Sometimes these corners follow the same patterns and designs and in some cases these corners have no dissemblance to the medallions at all. I did a little bit of research but found no specific definitions and descriptions of rugs and carpets medallions. However I had heard from a rug researcher about 15 years ago that medallions in old Persian rug designs stand for the universe and the center of the universe which is unity and eternal God. This makes sense.

here I am posting several pictures of different types of medallions of Persian rugs. I mention the origin of each rug for those who may want to do some research and add to the very little knowledge which is available on the history, mystery and definition of “medallions”.