Oriental

For a great number of decades, Oriental rugs have enjoyed abundance in fascination and partiality from all corners of the world. These rugs are not actually purchased for functional use but for its aesthetic value or more importantly as a status symbol in most Colonial homes. A lot of people apparently took pride in owning and displaying their expensive Oriental rugs for guests to envy and praise. Unlike other rugs, Oriental rugs are highly regarded to be in the echelon in the hierarchy of rugs and considered an ornamental piece of art above anything else. Predictably, it also comes with a very expensive price tag.

Before to spend a fortune on getting one for yourself, do not be lulled in the false sense of security into assuming that since its expensive it is authentic or of high quality. In this money-driven world, a lot of marketing ploys would stop at nothing just to convince a few customers to buy their ware that are ridiculously overpriced rates. So since you are not a rug connoisseur, you need to have a basic understanding on how to determine if the rug is definitely a supreme works of craftsmanship and if it is truly worth every single penny. There are actually five basic factors that you should take into consideration when buying Oriental rugs: material, knots per square inch, imperfections, authenticity and of course the price.

Material – oriental rugs are basically made of natural materials that includes wool, cotton and silk. Often, the combinations of wool and silk are used in a number of these rugs since it is a well known facts that such natural sources are actually more durable that the synthetic ones. Long ago, tradition has dictated families to pass on their rugs as heirlooms, which makes durability a highly important element in the selection. Wool is the highly preferred material use because it is known to be extremely durable and can effectively resist stains, dirt and even fire. For these reasons, wool earns the bragging rights of being the most expensive variety.

Knots Per Square Inch (KPSI) – to be able to expertly discern the quality of the rug, the KPSI is actually a very good indicator – the greater number of knots means greater quality. Only a person with an advanced skill in weaving tiny intricate knots at such small space is the only ones who can actually create this, which speaks highly of the craftsmanship and the amount of work that was put into making the rug.

Imperfections - you might be surprised to discover that a proof of an authentic Oriental rug is actually in its imperfections. As you all know human hands can only do so much, and only machines have the ability to churn out rugs with such flawless consistency. However, it’s a given fact that although machines are far efficient, humans win hands down when it comes to craftsmanship. So keep your eyes peeled for those charming imperfections that tell you a real story.

Authenticity – buy Oriental rugs with comes with the certificate of authenticity issued from its origin of purchase. This will indicate the retain value as well as all the pertinent details in the manufacturing of the rug such as the origin, materials used, size, age and of course the KPSI. A truly authentic rug would usually come from the popular Oriental rug dealers from Turkey, India, Tibet, Caucasus, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In fact, in the industry the origin is actually considered a very good indicator of the quality too.

Price – Keep in mind that if you traveled to such exotic destinations where Oriental rugs are made, the more intricate the pattern, the more expensive it is. However, you are merely purchasing the rug from a local dealer, well that’s an entirely different matter. More often than not low quality and high quality are all priced the same.

Now that you have a better idea on Oriental rug buying, you can shop with a more expert eye and ask important questions that will immediately tell the salesman to know better than to treat you with the usual underhanded tricks.