Tips for Buying an Oriental Rug
The key piece of buying an oriental rug is finding one that you like. By working with an expert, its a lot easier to focus on the segment of rugs that fit your style, lifestyle, and budget.
The finest new rugs are constructed of truly hand-spun wool with all-natural vegetable dyes, make up 2-4% of new production, and come with a higher price tag than the rugs you’ll find in your neighborhood rug store. High-end antique and vintage rugs are all constructed with these materials. There are plenty of other great choices if you don’t want to spring for the top of the line.
Find a rug dealer that you trust, and can put your faith in. Vincent has been working with rugs for 35 years, and is still continually learning. Nobody knows it all. Ask your friends and family where they bought and get their rugs cleaned and repaired, and check out the expert’s qualifications.
The knots per inch myth
One of the popular misconceptions about Oriental rugs is that the higher the knot density, the better the rug. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Most Oriental rugs are and were woven in North Africa, Spain to China, and points in between like Iran, Turkey, Southern Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tibet, etc. There were and are certain tribes, villages, regions, etc that never wove high knot density because of quality materials, decorative appeal, rarity, or age. A rug with half the knot density could demand 10x the price. Judging a rug by the number of knots is like judging a fine painting by the amount of paint.
