Heriz

Back one summer in the late 70’s, I was introduced to oriental rugs in the warehouse of a major importer.  At the time, Tabriz “hunting design” rugs in beige were all the rage; although rather insipid, the market was crazy for them.  One day, I got permission to open up some big, coarsely woven rugs rolled up in the back of the warehouse which hadn’t been touched all summer.  As we laid one on top of the other on the floor my heart was beating fast as I ran from end to end trying to take them all in. Two words immediately came to mind: “barbaric” and “magnificent. ”With huge geometric elements, in bold rusts, reds, ochres, and blues contrasted with ivory and beige, these were the Heriz.  This experience began a love affair that still runs strong to this day. Of course, no rug this extraordinary could remain a secret for long.  Within merely a couple of years people began to talk about Heriz’s (and their cousins, the Serapi) and designers began specifying  them for environments both modern and traditional.  In 2010, sensing the supply of these rugs could possibly be cut off by an impending embargo, I went overseas in search of a major purchase.  Amazingly, I was able to procure 50 pieces, all semi-antique and dating from the early to mid 20^th century, their colors mellowed and harmonious, and their character beautifully preserved.  Unfortunately for some, they mostly just come big - starting at 9x12 with lots of 10x14’s and some even larger.  (The smaller ones are very difficult to find, really expensive, and often very poor quality; if you are interested in something smaller we offer great reproductions produced by Tufenkian in Armenia.)  This hot category offers you the chance to own a Persian semi-antique tribal rug that is passionately decorative, not expensive.  These rugs are not bought to impress with the number of knots per inch, but because of their beauty, powerand presence.  And with prices of Persian rugs skyrocketing, you can rest easy in the money you’ve spent 10, 20 and more years down the road.  You cannot find rugs made ike this today: browse our selection of semi-antique Heriz rugs, Persian rugs, and Oriental rugs at the Tufenkian Outlet.