Description
Made in a wide area in and around the village of Sarouk in the Arak province of central Persia, Sarouks are generally of excellent quality. They are normally woven on cotton foundations, with between 160 and 400 Persian knots per square inch, using very good quality pile wool, which may be clipped either short or medium/long, depending on the design.
Sarouk designs can be separated into traditional Persian and American schemes. The traditional Persian scheme include boteh and herati compositions either in allover or medallion and corner formats and are sometimes referred to as Serabends or Mirs (if boteh are employed) and Ghiassabads or Meshrikis (when herati pattern is used). Perhaps the most impressive traditional design is a medallion and corner scheme which combines angularity with stylised yet naturalistic floral forms. In contrast the American (or Lilihan) design features large blossoming floral sprays radiating outwards from a central, medallion like floral form. It is so named because it was adapted for the American market from a design originating in the village of Lillian; the true Lillian design has a spidery central medallion which American Sarouks do not.
In traditional schemes, the palette is dominated by reds, blues, burnt orange, ochres and champagne, which often have a rather penumbral cast. American Sarouks use either rich rosy reds with blues and paler rose outlining the motifs, or less frequently, bright pastel shades (usually pale blues, turquoise or lemon yellow), used to create the same strong contrasts between motifs and field as in American Kermans.
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