This circa-1880 antique Persian Tabriz rug features an all-over design of floral abstractions and arabesques outlined in sharp brown lines over a field of beige. Stylized animal and botanical designs in the border add detail to this exotic piece. The famous textile-manufacturing city of Tabriz, the Azerbaijani-populated province in the north west of Iran, boasts one of the oldest rug weaving centers in the world and produces a large variety of Persian carpets characterized by having an especially fine knot density (indicative of high quality hand-knotted rugs). An antique Tabriz rug can be made of cotton or silk and woven as a pile antique carpet or flat-weave. A refined palette reliant on copper tones, terracotta and ivory, with shades of blue and subtle touches of gold, green and salmon are prevalent in these rugs.