MotifThe large gül the trade nicknamed the elephant's foot. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Persian for elephant's foot, a Western nickname for the large repeating gül of many Ersari rugs. The name is descriptive, not a documented tribal meaning.
Fil pai is Persian for elephant's foot. It is a Western and bazaar nickname for the big, blocky güls that march in rows across many Ersari rugs, named for the way one large medallion can look like a heavy, rounded footprint.
It helps to know what the name is not. There is no documented Turkmen meaning behind it; the motif is a true tribal gül, and fil pai is just the descriptive label the trade attached to it. The bold, open look owes something to the thick Karakul wool the Ersari wove with, which suits a large medallion better than fine detail.
