Oriental Rugs - An Eye for Quality

You're about to make a once-in-a-lifetime investment. You are given two diamonds that are identical in size and cut, but vastly different in price. A well-versed salesperson will explain to you why some stones are more expensive than others based on their clarity, color, and cut. You'll feel confident in your decision, regardless of whether you go with the more or less expensive stone.

The variety of carpets available at a reputable Oriental rug retailer can be overwhelming. A fine hand-woven oriental rug is an investment that can last as long as a diamond. You should research the item thoroughly to ensure its high quality. The following considerations are important.

Wool Quality

The pile can be made from a variety of materials, although wool is by far the most prevalent. The raw materials, including the wool, have a significant role in defining the final product's quality, so low-quality wool will result in a low-quality rug. The lanolin in the wool should give the pile a natural gloss, and it shouldn't be dull. Certain carpets, particularly those made in China and Pakistan, undergo unique treatments to achieve a velvety sheen. The chemical treatment shortens the lifespan and damages the fibers, making them wear out quickly. Wool should have a firm, bouncy feel, not one that flattens readily. Carpets are typically woven from coarse wool (originating from Middle Eastern Fat Tailed sheep). Australian Merino wool is more luxurious and refined. It is generally accepted (with a few notable exceptions) that Persian wool is often of the greatest quality, and this is often reflected in the carpets made with it. It's probably hand-spun, not machine-made. Hand-spun yarns tend to last longer because they're treated more gently during production. Dyestuffs tend to take to wool that has been hand-spun better. You can either cut the pile short to highlight the design or let it grow out.

Check out a variety of outdoor rugs 5x7 in the shop to compare and contrast the various types of wool on display. Inquire as to how a rug's wool quality stacks up against others. Instead of asking if the wool is decent, you could compare the quality of the wool used in each rug. Find out if it is machine- or hand-spun. The average person wouldn't be able to see this. Although silk carpets are beautiful to look at, they do not hold up well to daily use. Sometimes, notably in Turkish rugs, treated (Mercerized) cotton passes for silk under the titles Turkish silk and Art silk.

Dyes

The second consideration is the standard of the dyestuffs applied. By the middle of the past century, all dyes were considered "natural," meaning they were derived from plants (and occasionally insects). Poor quality synthetic aniline dyes were the first to arise, running, fading, or changing color after prolonged exposure to light. Incorrectly produced current "chrome" dyes, most of these issues no longer exist. Being too color fast prevents current dyes from mellowing naturally with time and use, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. In other countries, including Turkey and Iran, people still choose to utilize natural dyes. They retain their beauty and value over time, turning brilliant tones that make them highly desirable.

Check out the rug at the shop with a keen eye. Roots and tangles must be investigated. Is the hue different at the base? This could mean that the dye is unstable when exposed to light. If the pile side of the rug is noticeably lighter than the reverse, it has likely been chemically washed (bleached). Little cleaning is fine and will not harm the rug, but heavy bleaching will ruin the fibers and shorten its life. Check out the design formed by the intersection of light and dark shades. Are the darker colors fading away? In the case of a solid field of a single hue, a uniform field is undesirable. Try to find a little "Abrash" or variance in color. This usually denotes that the wool has been hand-spun and hand-dyed, as well as adding depth and contributing to the "hand-woven" aspect.

Several potentially lovely rugs are ruined by the use of harsh or discordant colors; a "hot" synthetic orange is a prime offender that does not soften with time.

Buildings

There could be millions of knots in a rug woven by hand. The yarn is anchored by the wefts, which run horizontally and loop over the wrap strings. Often cotton or wool is used for the warps and wefts. It's common for the knot density to be misinterpreted as a measure of quality. It all depends on the rug's material, style, history, etc. Even the rug's apparent number of knot buds, which may be seen from the back, is deceptive. For instance, if you look closely at a rug made in Pakistan, you'll notice that the knot has two loops. The density of the pile in high-quality Persian carpets is achieved by partially or entirely depressing one warp, which causes the loops to stack atop one another.

Find a dense stack in the store. Reach in and poke about the stack. The rug's durability will suffer if its wefts are easily felt. To speed up the weaving process, the center knots are sometimes knotted "just," or over four warps, while the border knots are looped over two. It halves the density of the stack.

There can be some wiggle room with the building standards. Yet, a rug that is notably narrower in the middle or wider at the top may be less valuable. Inconsistent weft tensions are another telltale sign of a badly woven rug. Design imperfections that show that a tribal rug was hand-woven are often a selling point. The hallmarks of a high-quality Persian carpet are a design that is meticulously completed down to the last detail, carefully drawn borders and expert weaving.

To get the best look at the rug, unroll it in a quiet section of the store. Is the form uniform? Can it be laid flat? Are the edges smooth? Stay away from fringes that have been sewn on. They do not increase a rug's worth in any way. New rugs rarely have flaws, but it never hurts to double-check; (small holes can be effectively repaired). Seeing how the design is carried out in rugs of varying quality will help you decide (compare, for example, an Indian-made Kashan and a Persian-made Kashan).

Visit a trustworthy vendor who will let you take a rug home for inspection and who can increase your understanding and enjoyment of these valuable antiques.

To imply that an Oriental rug's quality is only influenced by its knot count is misleading. Uniformed salespeople who are unaware of their complexities reinforce this notion. It can also be used to increase the asking price of a rug that is genuinely underpriced. Knot count can, in fact, factor into the quality equation, though not in a simple way. Let's look at the data.

• Knots are the horizontal weft strings holding loops of the pile that is woven onto adjacent warp strings (the vertical part of the foundation). The knot in a thickly woven rug is stacked by drawing the wefts tightly. When viewed from behind, there is only a single "bud," not two. Because the knots in some carpets are not piled, the two buds of each knot are visible. This is especially true of rugs with a Pakistani "Bokhara" design. So, knowing the rug's construction is crucial.

• Knot count is more indicative of design style than actual quality. Pattern resolution is not as important for a geometric design as it is for a curvy floral design. While a flower pattern might not work with 100 knots per square inch, a geometric tribal rug might look great with that density. Determine if the design is elegant or awkward.

• Different varieties of rugs have varying knot counts. The weaving of a traditional Iranian Heriz is normally coarse to medium (75-100 knots per square inch). Heriz carpets are highly sought after and valued for their antiquity despite their low knot count.

• Knot count is less of a factor in durability than the quality of the wool used. To put it simply, a rug woven coarsely with high-quality wool will outperform a rug woven finely with low-quality wool. Unlike a fine knit cardigan, a bulky knot jumper won't wear out any sooner.

• While shopping for "programmed lines" of rugs, the knot count is given more weight. They are predetermined-pattern, standard-size, mass-produced rugs from India (4x6, 6x9, 8x10, etc.) These carpets are not at all like the one-of-a-kind works that showcase the history, creativity, and talent of the particular weaver.

• Arug's value is typically proportional to the time and effort that went into tying its knots. The knot count is significant if you care simply about the amount of labor put into something and not about the quality of the materials, the authenticity of the design, or the piece's overall aesthetic appeal.