A stylized blossom motif regarded in Persian rug tradition as a sacred flower and linked with long life. The central medallion of a floral-medallion rug is read as a lotus, drawn either as one large flower or as several small ones. The lotus is also a main feature of the Shah Abbasi design, and in the Herati design the fish-like leaves are said to circle a lotus. Lotus blossoms are among the motifs credited to the Mongol period, when designs from Chinese art entered Persian rugs.