Most rugs decorate a room. A Persian hunting rug tells a story. The hunting rug tradition — one of the oldest and most prestigious in the entire history of textile art — transforms the floor into a narrative landscape: a world of animals moving through a garden, birds perched in the branches of the Tree of Life, hunters and prey caught in a moment of eternal drama. This hand-knotted Persian hunting-style wool rug in 8×10, woven in deep navy with animals, birds, and Tree of Life motifs throughout, is one of the most extraordinary pictorial rugs available today. It is not simply a floor covering. It is a work of art that happens to be woven in wool.

The Persian hunting rug tradition dates back to the Safavid dynasty of the 16th century, when the royal workshops of Isfahan and Tabriz produced pictorial rugs of breathtaking complexity for the courts of Shah Abbas and his successors. These rugs depicted the royal hunt — a scene of horses, deer, lions, birds, and hunters moving through a paradisiacal garden — as a symbol of royal power, abundance, and the mastery of nature. The finest examples are now in the great museums of the world. This rug brings that same tradition to your home.

Full view — Animal & Tree of Life Persian Hunting Rug 8×10

The Persian Hunting Rug Tradition — Five Centuries of Pictorial Mastery

The hunting rug is the most complex and prestigious category in the entire history of Persian rug design. Unlike geometric or floral rugs, which repeat a pattern across the field, a hunting rug is a unique pictorial composition — a scene that unfolds across the entire surface of the rug like a painting, with each animal, bird, and tree individually designed and placed. The weaver must hold the entire composition in mind as they work, knot by knot, building up the image from the foundation with extraordinary precision and skill.

The navy ground of this rug is the traditional colour of the finest Persian pictorial rugs — a deep, rich blue that provides the perfect backdrop for the warm tones of the animals and the gold and ivory of the Tree of Life. In the Safavid tradition, navy represented the night sky, the infinite, the divine — the ground against which all earthly life plays out its drama.

The Motifs — Animals, Birds, and the Tree of Life

Animal detail — Deer and birds in the Persian garden

The Animals

The animals in a Persian hunting rug are not merely decorative — they carry specific symbolic meaning rooted in centuries of Persian literary and artistic tradition. Deer represent grace, beauty, and the soul’s longing for the divine. Lions represent power, courage, and royal authority. Birds — particularly the peacock and the nightingale — represent paradise, beauty, and the spirit’s aspiration toward the transcendent. Each animal in this rug has been individually designed and woven with the care and precision of a miniature painting.

The Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is one of the oldest and most universal symbols in human culture — present in the mythologies of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, India, and China. In the Persian rug tradition, the Tree of Life represents the axis of the world, the connection between earth and heaven, the source of all life and abundance. It appears in this rug as a central organising element — a great tree whose branches shelter the animals and birds of the garden, whose roots connect the earthly and the divine.

Tree of Life detail — The axis of the Persian garden

The Navy Ground — The Colour of the Infinite

Navy is the perfect ground colour for a pictorial rug. It is deep enough to make the warm tones of the animals and the gold of the Tree of Life sing with luminosity, but rich enough to have its own presence and depth. In natural wool, navy has a complexity that synthetic fibres cannot replicate — it shifts from deep midnight in shadow to warm indigo in direct light, creating a ground that is alive with subtle colour variation. The animals and birds seem to move across this ground as if through a deep, still night.

Bird detail — Peacock in the Persian garden

How to Style a Persian Hunting Rug

A pictorial hunting rug is a statement piece of the highest order. It requires a room that is confident enough to let it lead — and restrained enough not to compete with it.

In a living room: Keep surrounding furniture simple and neutral. A cream or warm white sofa, natural wood or dark walnut furniture, and simple aged brass or bronze accents allow the rug’s pictorial narrative to be the room’s undisputed focal point. Avoid busy patterns in cushions or curtains — the rug is the pattern. Everything else should be the frame.

In a study or library: This is where a hunting rug is most at home. Pair with dark wood bookshelves, a leather Chesterfield, and warm amber lighting. The navy ground and the pictorial narrative create an atmosphere of deep, scholarly luxury — the kind of room that feels as if it has been assembled over a lifetime of serious collecting and reading.

In a dining room: Centre under a dark wood dining table with simple upholstered chairs in cream or ivory. The pictorial rug creates a conversation piece that makes every dinner feel like an occasion — guests will spend the evening discovering new animals and motifs in the design.

Living room styling — Animal & Tree of Life Persian Hunting Rug

100% Natural Wool — The Only Material for a Pictorial Rug

This rug is woven with a 100% natural wool pile on a cotton foundation. In a pictorial rug, the quality of the wool is more important than in any other style — because the animals, birds, and Tree of Life motifs require a pile that holds fine detail with precision and clarity. Natural wool takes dye with a depth and complexity that allows the subtle colour variations within each motif to read clearly. The deer’s coat, the peacock’s feathers, the Tree of Life’s leaves — each requires a different tone, and natural wool achieves those tones with a richness that synthetic fibres simply cannot match.

• Detail precision — natural wool holds fine pictorial detail with clarity that synthetic fibres cannot replicate
• Colour depth — each motif’s subtle colour variations read clearly in natural wool, giving the animals and birds their individual character
• Longevity — the dense hand-knotted construction ensures the pictorial design remains clear and vivid for generations

Pile detail — 100% natural wool, pictorial precision

Is an 8×10 the Right Size for Your Room?

An 8×10 rug is the ideal size for a pictorial hunting rug — large enough for the full narrative to unfold across the surface, but proportioned to work in a wide range of rooms:

• Living rooms — large enough to anchor a full sofa and two accent chairs, with the pictorial field fully visible from the seating
• Studies and libraries — fills the floor of a medium-sized study, creating an immersive pictorial environment
• Dining rooms — fits under a 4–6 seat table with 24 inches of clearance so chairs remain on the rug when pulled out
• Master bedrooms — extends 24–30 inches beyond the sides and foot of a queen bed, with the pictorial field visible from the bed

Overhead flat lay — Full pictorial view

Specifications

Fringe detail — Hand-finished edges

Care & Maintenance

• Vacuum weekly on low suction, in the direction of the pile — never against it, never over the fringe
• Rotate every 6–12 months for even wear and balanced sun exposure
• Blot spills immediately — never rub. Cold water and mild wool-safe detergent, then blot dry
• Professional cleaning every 1–2 years by a hand-knotted wool specialist
• Always use a quality rug pad to prevent slipping, reduce wear, and protect your floor

Corner detail — Master artisan craftsmanship

Border detail — Traditional Persian border system

Frequently Asked Questions

Animal detail — Lion and deer in the Persian garden

Full field view — The complete pictorial narrative