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A Short Guide to Oriental rugs

An authentic oriental rug or carpet is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile in a Oriental design.

Rugs made by machine or any method other than hand knotting or hand weaving are not considered authentic oriental rugs.

The Oriental rugs and carpets normally come from a broad geographical region extending from China and Vietnam in the east to Turkey and Iran in the west and the Caucasus in the north to India in the south.

Most carpets are hand-knotted and have a pile. The exceptions are flatweaves such as kilims and soumaks which have neither a pile nor knots. An Oriental carpet with a pile has the same design on the back as it has on the front and has uneven edges. Each dot of colour on the back generally represents a knot. The back of a machine-made carpet has a shadowy pattern and very straight sides.

The quality of a Oriental rug or carpet depends on many things – here are the main ones to consider:

Work – The amount of work involved in making a rug is key in the quality of the piece and direct to its price.

In the knotting process, the finer the carpet (i.e. the higher the density of knots), the longer it takes to weave the same total area. In addition a fine piece requires weavers with higher skills, who are more expensive to hire and so you not only pay for the amount of work, but also the quality of work. This is measured in KPSI (knots per square inch) and the more knots, the finer the rug is.

Materials used – Oriental Rugs tend to be made from wool or silk. Silk is considerably more expensive than wool, and the work put in to create the carpet is greater, thus increasing the quality and price of the piece. Wool is the basis of most oriental rugs. Wool can be bought in grades of quality so fine wool used in a Persian Sarough (Kork wool ) is finer than that used for example in a indian Agra. A good wool will feel reasonably soft to the touch, perhaps a little oily, can take heavy use and readily absorbs the dyes. A carpet or rug that is very soft is not durable - it is like buying a lower quality cashmere jumper which is lovely to touch but becomes easily worn and will be reflected in the price.

Age – The age of a carpet can add to its value. As rugs get older and the pile receives wear, the colours mellow and the piece can become more appealing. If the wear is very even and the piece is in good condition, the value of it can increase substantially, especially as it approaches antiquity. Older carpets must not have moth damage or undue tears or stains. However, it is more acceptable in a very old carpet for there to be some wear and tear with frayed or missing ends and edges.

Rugs and Carpets that fall into the Oriental field are :

Afghan Rugs ........ Persian rugs....... Large rugs........Indian Rugs ........Turkish Rugs.....Kilim Rugs

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