Provenance and Heritage

This palatial Halvai Bidjar is a sculptural object as much as a rug. Hand-knotted in the Kurdish highlands of western Iran in the 1920s, it carries the dense weight, ironclad construction and quiet authority that have made Halvai Bidjars one of the most sought-after groups in the antique Persian canon. The village of Halvai, north-east of the town of Bidjar, produced what collectors consider the technical apex of Bidjar weaving. At 520 × 315 cm it commands a room without dominating it — the patina is gentle, the colours have settled into themselves, and every metre rewards a closer look.

As a fully documented antique of this calibre — over a century old, structurally intact, in a palace format that rarely survives in this condition — it represents a genuine investment-grade acquisition: a collector's carpet that holds its value as both art and asset.

The Halvai Distinction

The knot count here is approximately 360,000 knots per m², set on a cotton warp and weft so tightly compressed that the rug weighs close to 100 kg — a Halvai is famously the rug you cannot fold, only roll. The pile is pure hand-spun wool, 12–15 mm high, dense enough to stand a coin on edge. This is not decoration; it is structural craftsmanship designed to last centuries.

Colour and Composition

The design is the classic Mahi (“fish” / Herati) pattern — small rhomboid leaves arranged around tiny rosettes, repeated across the field in disciplined columns, with a stepped central medallion and red-and-blue corner spandrels. The palette is the textbook Bidjar quartet: a deep indigo-blue ground, madder red, and ivory accents, with touches of green, rose and gold. The broad red main border of palmette-and-vine scrolls is flanked by vivid turquoise-blue guard borders. Vegetable dyes throughout, oxidised and softened by a century of light.

Presence in the Room

At 520 × 315 cm (16.4 m²) this is true palace format. Three contexts in which a piece of this scale and gravitas reaches its full effect:

• Panelled library or grand living room: A carpet of this weight anchors a space the way a fireplace or a grand piano does.
• Formal dining room: Under a long table for twelve to eighteen — the Mahi field is busy enough to forgive daily use and quiet enough to live with.
• Representative or institutional space: A double-height hall or conference room where the piece signals continuity and seriousness.

Specifications

1stDibs Recognised Dealer

Djoharian carries the Recognised Dealer badge on 1stDibs since 2013, with a 5.0/5 verified rating across 18 reviews — a standard of authentication and presentation that serious collectors and design professionals can rely on. Every piece of this calibre is offered with full provenance documentation and a certificate of authenticity.

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 behind every piece we offer, collected, vetted and presented with the documentation a serious collector expects.

Service and Acquisition

Secure and fast worldwide shipping, fully insured, included in the price for EU destinations and available on quote elsewhere. We provide full provenance documentation, a certificate of authenticity and aftercare advice. Viewing in our Lohr am Main showroom is welcome by appointment — for a piece of this calibre, we recommend it.