1072 | THREE OF A KIND Antique Persian Karaja Triple-Medallion Rug | Circa 1920–1930 | 1.7 × 2.8

ABOUT THIS RUG

Three medallions. Three personalities. Zero interest in subtlety.

Meet Three of a Kind—a tiny antique Persian Karaja from Northwest Persia with the bold geometry, saturated color, and wonderfully unapologetic drawing that make old Karajas so damn good.

The field is a beautifully aged madder red, scattered with tiny geometric flowers in powder blue, ivory, faded pink, mustard, and deep indigo.

Then come the medallions.

At either end, enormous stepped blue medallions explode across the field in dusty teal and indigo, packed with angular flowers, hooks, ivory details, faded pink, and spectacular flashes of mustard yellow.

Between them sits something completely different: a dark hexagonal medallion outlined in ivory and centered by a tiny diamond of blue, yellow, and red.

Three medallions.

None particularly interested in matching.

Perfect.

A crisp ivory guard border frames the field before giving way to a dark outer border loaded with repeating geometric forms in faded pink, blue, red, and—because apparently this rug wasn't colorful enough already—more mustard yellow.

Origin: Northwest Persia (Iran), Karaja / Karajeh, greater Heriz weaving region
Age: Antique, likely circa 1920–1930
Construction: Hand-knotted wool
Size: 1'7" × 2'8"
Colors: Madder red, dusty teal, deep indigo, faded pink, warm ivory, mustard yellow & chocolate brown
Design: Traditional Karaja triple-medallion composition with geometric florals and multiple contrasting borders

WHY WE LOVE IT

The colors are ridiculous.

Old Karajas are known for bold geometry and strong color, but this little thing takes the assignment personally.

Madder red forms the backdrop. Dusty teal and indigo dominate the oversized end medallions. Faded pink softens everything just enough.

And then there's the mustard.

Those tiny jolts of golden yellow appear inside the medallions, hide among the flowers, and periodically interrupt the border like somebody turned the saturation back on.

It's spectacular.

But what really makes Three of a Kind work is the drawing.

Karaja rugs are famous for their vertically arranged geometric medallions, and this one gives you the whole show in less than three feet. Instead of three carbon copies, the weaver created a composition where the end medallions relate to each other while the dark central medallion confidently does its own thing.

Lines wander.

Flowers mutate.

Colors appear wherever they damn well please.

That's not bad symmetry. That's good Karaja.

CONDITION

Three of a Kind presents remarkably well for an antique village rug approaching a century old.

The wool retains substantial pile and wonderfully saturated color, particularly in the blues, reds, pinks, and mustard accents. There is age-appropriate pile variation, handmade irregularity, and wear consistent with decades of use, along with expected irregularity at the ends and fringe.

Most importantly, it still has presence.

The colors haven't disappeared.

The drawing hasn't gone flat.

And nobody tried to manufacture 100 years of character last Tuesday.

Time handled that part.

Please review all photographs carefully, as they are considered part of the condition description.

STYLING NOTES

At 1'7" × 2'8", Three of a Kind requires almost no real estate and provides an unreasonable amount of personality in return.

Beside a bed.

At the kitchen sink.

Powder room.

Entry.

Under a small table.

In front of a console.

Layered over something enormous and neutral.

Our preference?

Put it somewhere painfully contemporary.

Walnut. Travertine. Stainless steel. Plaster. Linen.

Then drop two and a half feet of century-old red, teal, pink, and mustard Persian chaos onto the floor.

There. Fixed it.

FINAL WORD

Karaja weavers had a formula:

Three medallions. Strong geometry. Great color.

This weaver apparently considered that a starting point.

Nearly a century later, the reds are still rich, the blues still punch, the mustard still shows up uninvited, and all three medallions are still fighting for your attention.

#1072 — Three of a Kind.

Three medallions.

One hell of a hand.