SUNDAY BUSINESS
In Search of Quality Amid a Glut of Oriental Rugs
By KATE MURPHY (New York Times)
January 16, 2005
ORIENTAL rugs have long been valued for their artistry and durability,
not to mention their association with taste and gentility. But these days
you don't need to be a Brahmin to buy one. There is a glut of affordable
Oriental rugs on the market, thanks to the end in 2000 of a 20-year embargo
on Iranian textiles and an expanding range of other floor covering options.
Discerning quality can be tricky, because of the many subtleties in materials,
design and craftsmanship. But if you use your senses, you can find a rug
that not only suits your style but is also a sound investment.
But before you let a dealer unroll a single rug for you to examine,
keep some basic guidelines in mind. Decide how much you want to spend
and where you want to put the rug. If it is destined for the dining room,
you'll want it to be bigger than the table, and you may want a dark color
that camouflages spills. And just so you don't come across as a rug rube,
call the rug a ''carpet'' only if it is more than 6 feet long.
Your next decision is whether to buy a modern or antique rug. Though
there are exceptions, the best-quality rugs are either very old or very
new but made in the old tradition, most dealers and collectors say. ''There
has been an effort in the last few years to return to the way rugs were
made a century ago,'' said Mark Hopkins, president of the New England
Rug Society, a group of rug scholars and connoisseurs.
That was before the widespread use of chemically treated wool, synthetic
dyes and mass production techniques discouraged weavers' creativity. ''Some
of the new rugs are like the antiques in that they are unique, one of
a kind, works of art,'' said Mr. Hopkins, a retired advertising executive
who has a large collection of Oriental rugs.
Prices vary according to design, provenance and condition, but you can
get comparable antique and new room-size Oriental rugs for $2,000 to $10,000.
Rare collector's rugs, like a 12-by-14-foot Sultanabad circa 1870, may
go for $100,000 to $200,000.
New rugs have the advantage of no wear, but an antique rug that is well
made and well maintained will outlast your grandchildren — and hold
its value or even appreciate. ''I like to use the analogy of antique furniture,''
said Carol Piper, an Oriental rug dealer in Houston. ''You buy a beautifully
made new sofa, and it's just a used sofa the day after you bought it,
whereas a valuable antique will still be a valuable antique.''
When evaluating a rug, look for warm colors that change hue when viewed
from different angles. Avoid rugs with brash, one-note colors, like taxicab
yellow or mailbox blue, as those can indicate synthetic, chemical dyes
rather than natural dyes derived from plants and insects.
''The naturally dyed rugs are more aesthetically pleasing and more valuable,''
said George Anavian, a rug dealer with showrooms in Santa Fe, N.M., and
Manhattan who also teaches a rug appraisal course at New York University.
And natural dyes do not run the way some synthetic ones do. Dampen a white
handkerchief and rub it over the pile to check for color fastness.
Next, turn the rug over. Don't worry about counting knots per square
inch because the weave's tightness does not always indicate value. More
important is that the weave has some irregularity in the knotting. If
it's flawless, it may not be handmade; machine-made rugs are anathema
to collectors.
''Often the most valuable and charming rugs are ones that have imperfections''
— when the top and bottom border designs don't match, for example,
because the weaver could not see across to repeat exactly what had been
done at the other end of the rug, Ms. Piper said.
Historically, the great carpet-making areas have been Iran, Turkey, Turkestan
and the Caucasus. But you can also add Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India
and China to the list.
Look at the back of the rug to check for repairs — and to see if
the rug may have been cut down from a larger size. Tip-offs are lines
that look like seams running through the design, or obvious overstitching.
''It's not necessarily bad if the alterations are well done, but you want
to know what you are getting,'' Mr. Anavian said, because such modifications
can reduce the value.
Check whether the colors on the back match those on the front. If not,
it may have been chemically ''aged'' to appear antique. You can also check
for such aging by separating the pile and looking for dark roots —
like those of a bleached blond overdue for a hair appointment.
THE most durable and valuable rugs are usually made of wool and should
feel soft, springy and lustrous. If a rug is frizzy or coarse, the wool
has probably been scalded and mechanically spun, which strips away its
protective fibers and lanolin, said George Jevremovic, president of Woven
Legends, a rug importer in Philadelphia. ''If it's spun by hand, the wool
keeps its natural Scotchgard against stains and wear,'' he said.
You should also feel for uneven or thin areas in the pile — signs
of wear or moth damage. These may not be apparent to the eye because they
are often painted over. Fold the rug back and forth and listen for any
creaking or cracking, indications of dry rot. And give the rug a whiff.
A funky smell can signal rot or mold.
Dealers and appraisers say well-made Oriental rugs increase or at least
hold their value over time, and collectors say that some rugs are worth
10 times what they were 20 years ago. But nothing is certain.
''You can't predict how much a rug will be worth in 10 years any more
than you can predict the value of a stock — look at Enron,'' said
Ms. Piper, in Houston, who has sold several rugs consigned by former executives
of that company. More important than the potential return on investment,
she said, is knowing ''that you really love the rug, it pleases you and
you want to live with it.''
QUICK READ
When choosing an Oriental rug, use your senses to gauge quality.
SIGHT
Look for colors that are warm and change hue when viewed from different
angles. The colors should not bleed or be darker at the base of the pile.
TOUCH
The wool should be soft and springy, like a healthy head of hair. Avoid
pile that is frizzy or coarse.
SOUND
Creaking or cracking noises when the rug is folded back and forth can
indicate dry rot.
SMELL
Bad-smelling rugs may indicate poor-quality wool or be a sign of rot or
mold.
Photos: Details of two Oriental rugs: an early 1800's ''Karachov Kazak''
design from the Caucasus, left, and a more contemporary Tigris 236, a
Woven Legends rug. (Photo by www.ne-rugsociety.org); (Photo by Gary McKinnis)
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