In terms of design, drawing, and coloration as well, Serapis are clearly part of one and the same tradition as Herizes, which originated as a Northwest Persian adaptation of early Sarouk Farahan medallion room-size rugs, but with a more geometric, abstract, village sensibility. Like Herizes, Serapis have a multiple concentric medallion format that emits jutting branches or vines ending in large stylized palmettes, leaves, or flowers, with framing cornerpieces at the periphery of the field. The main border is usually some variant of the ‘turtle’ vinescroll pattern. In terms of design, what distinguishes Serapis from Herizes is once again their more refined approach.
The articulation of the medallions is crisper, more finely linear, and open. The vines are more finely proportioned, and there is more open space in the field, allowing the large leafy palmette forms to stand out with greater clarity and elegance. The same distinctions are apparent in the treatment of the borders. On the whole, it appears that what we call Serapi carpets are simply the oldest, most well-designed, and finely woven Herizes. So then why do they have a different label?
The answer probably lies in the twentieth-century development of Heriz production and its perceived standing within the Oriental rug market. After about 1920, there was a noticeable overall decline in the quality of Oriental rug production stemming from the introduction of synthetic dyes, machine spun wool, and vastly increased production in response to Western demand. Within this process Herizes, with their coarser structure and bolder, more large-scale designs naturally lent themselves to more rapid and less careful manufacturing standards, and their production came to consist largely of middle and lower grade weavings. They rapidly emerged as the budget Oriental carpet. One has only to look at the numerous old and semi-antique Herizes still around today, with their faded dyes, coarse, often loose technique, blocky drawing, and unimaginative designs, to see how far they had slipped from the examples of the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By mid century no average western rug buyer interested in acquiring a quality piece would have thought that a new or used Heriz would have served such requirements. In 1900 a new Gorevan Heriz was regarded as a high-grade product, but half a century later a Gorevan had come to be regarded as an inferior production. page 3
