When thinking of Oriental carpets, motifs like geometrical and vegetal ornament, hunting scenes, and paradisiacal gardens usually come to mind. This paper, instead, draws attention to pictorial rugs featuring large-scale portraits that were made in Iran and the Soviet Union in the 19th and 20th century. By shedding light on this hitherto rather neglected group of artifacts and by interrogating the artistic practices and challenges of translating portraits onto carpets, this study will contribute to discussions of artistic intermedial processes, multiple temporalities of artifacts, and the relationship of figure and ornament. Further, it will enhance our understanding of the political dimensions of portrait rugs.