Parts of a Rug Design

The field is the background color of the rug inside of the borders. Often, but not always, there is a medallion (a round, polygonal or oval motif) that sits directly in the middle of the rug. There are usually two borders on a rug: the main border and the guard border. The main border is the widest design around the outside of the rug. Guard borders are usually narrow and lay inside of the main border. Corner brackets, or spandrels, are designs that sometimes fill in the corners of the field.

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Rug Motifs and Color Meanings

Rug Motifs

There are popular motif patterns that are used in many different types of rug designs throughout the weaving world. The boteh is a style of weaving that looks much like a European paisley pattern. It is made to represent a pear, a flame or a cone.

An example of the boteh style

The herati is a motif that is very curvilinear and is often used in the Victorian decorating style. It originated in Herat, Persia, and features a blossom with four curling leaves.

The gul motif is a squatty polygon design, which is usually arranged into rows in the field. A gul is used to represent an elephant foot.

An example of a gul motif

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Rug Symbols

Ancient rugs were not only pieces of art, but also of literature since each rug told a story with the symbols weaved into it. Below is a list of some of the commonly used symbols found in rugs and what they mean.