Provenance and Design Heritage

Karaja is a small village in the Heriz district of northwestern Iran, in the historic weaving region between Tabriz and Ardebil, close to the Azerbaijani border. Karaja work holds a distinctive position in the Persian canon: it shares the geometric vocabulary of the wider Heriz family but draws heavily on the visual language of the neighbouring Caucasus. The Eagle-Kazak design seen here — also called Tschelaberd, with its bold double medallions — is one of the clearest expressions of that Caucasian influence: graphic, architectural, and among the most collected of all tribal patterns.

This piece was hand-knotted in the Karaja village of the Heriz district around 1940, from durable highland wool on a cotton foundation, using the symmetrical (Turkish) knot typical of the region. The composition centres on two striking stepped star medallions — the “eagles” that give the design its name — set against an open field and framed by multiple tribal borders.

Colour and Composition

The field is a warm rust-red to terracotta, carrying the two large medallions with their ivory radiating points and navy-blue centres worked with green and red florals. The borders run in navy and rust with ivory and gold floral-geometric motifs. The palette — rust-red, navy, ivory, with green and gold accents — has softened over some eight decades into a balanced, naturally aged register, while the bold graphic medallions remain the clear architectural anchors of the composition.

Presence in the Room

At 135 × 225 cm (3.0 m²) this is a medium room-size piece. Three contexts in which the Karaja Eagle reaches its full effect:

• Modern industrial loft: the bold graphic medallions and saturated tribal palette pair particularly well with raw concrete, blackened steel, oak and leather.
• Mid-century interior: the graphic clarity of the design holds its own beside mid-century furniture, and the rust-red ground warms a room of natural materials.
• Traditional space: the aged provenance and disciplined Caucasian vocabulary come home to interiors built around darker wood, heavy upholstery and historical depth.

Specifications

Responsible Origin · Label STEP

Djoharian is a certified partner of Label STEP, the international fair-trade organisation for hand-knotted rugs. STEP audits production conditions on the ground — wages, working environment, no child labour — and tracks pieces from loom to dealer.

Djoharian — Since 1967

Our family business was founded in 1967, with roots in the Grand Carpet Bazaar of Tehran. Five decades of trade and connoisseurship inform every piece we offer — collected, vetted, and presented with the documentation a serious buyer expects.

Service

Every piece is expertly inspected in our atelier in Lohr am Main, professionally washed and shipped with a certificate of authenticity. Secure and fast worldwide shipping, fully insured, with personal consultation in our showroom or by video call.