News & Information

Friday, 05 January 2007
Owning a fine antique Oriental rug, especially a fine antique, is not only a pleasure, but a responsibility. Owners of antique rugs should actually think of themselves as the current owner, one in a series extending from the past into the future. Maintenance is perhaps the most important and simplest aspect of owning a rug since it it vital to protecting the condition and value of the piece. In order to enjoy a fine rug over the long term, and to insure that others will enjoy it after you, it is important to follow these simple precautions.

Rugs are susceptible to various types of damage:

- wear due to to foot traffic and rough vacuuming
- damage due to moths and other insects, stains from food or beverages
- burns from smoking or fireplaces
- damage to edges from roller brush vacuum cleaners.

Any such damage. If left unattended will eventually unravel and wear down to foundation or deteriorate further into an actual hole, tear, or gap. Any such losses to the fabric - holes and torn edges – must be repaired as soon as possible to prevent them from getting larger and then requiring more extensive repair.

Prevention -
The best way minimize such damage is simply to avoid it.

1.Be on guard for the tiny moths that eat rugs. Check the underside of your rug periodically to look for evidence of moths, especially the white silky cobwebs of the larvae.

2. If you store rugs folded or rolled, use moth balls or cedar shavings, and check the rugs every month or two.

3. Some residences tend to have moths. If you fall into this category use moth spray periodically, even on the reverse side of rugs in active use.

Cleaning -
Rugs will be come dirty in time no matter how careful the owner. Accumulation of dust
and silt also contributes to wear.

1. Every four years or so, a rug should be washed as routine maintenance. Urban environments will deposit airborne grime and soot on rugs and textiles. Rugs can also dry out from central heating, and washing not only cleans the rug but re-moisturizes the wool.

2. Spot cleaning may be necessary in the case of stains from spills, but do not use any chemical cleaners or stain removers, since they may damage the rug irreversibly. Red wine, tea, coffee, milk, and pet stains require immediate attention. Such spills should be blotted up and then flushed with water. This can be done by putting a disposable towel or cloth under the rug and pouring water through it until the stain is rinsed out. Test the rug with a bit of water first to make sure that the colors do not run before flushing extensively with water.

3. Red wine spills can also be treated by putting table salt on the stain after blotting and flushing, but the salt should be removed after five minutes or it will bleach the rug.

4. If you soak an area on the rug, lift it from the floor surface to allow air circulation on both sides until it is thoroughly dry. A damp rug left on the floor may lead to dry rot.

Major washing and even spot cleaning are best left to professionals. A professional cleaning service can do wonders getting out stains, especially if one has the rug attended to quickly.

Foot traffic -
Even the finest rug will wear down if subjected to repeated traffic.

1. It is important to rotate the rug every two years or so that traffic is spread evenly over the
piece. to
2. Frequent vacuuming is essential to remove dust and grit which will wear the pile down under foot traffic. But it should be ordinary suction vacuuming

Light -
Contrary to popular opinion, vegetable dyes do not fade substantially when exposed to light. It is synthetic dyes that will fade extensively. But prolonged, intense sunlight is not good for textiles of any type. Intense light will dry and oxidize the wool, weakening the fibers.

1. If you have rugs in a very sunny room with southern exposure, it is advisable to use shading,
not to block the light, but to reduce it somewhat.

2. It may also be advisable to use UV films on the windows.

Things not to do:

1. Do not store rugs in a closet or attic without checking every month or so for moths

2. Do not store rugs in a basement, which will lead to irreparable dry rot.

3. Do not leave a rug that is damp or wet directly on the floor surface. Moisture that cannot
escape from under the rug may also cause dry rot.

4. Do not use vacuum cleaners with brush roller bars, unless the roller feature can be turned
off. Roller or beater bars can cause the ends and sides of the rug to fray, leading to
extensive loss or damage to the pile.

5. Do not attempt to treat stains with chemical cleaners. These may make things worse and
prevent a professional cleaner from removing the stain later on.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Written by David Castriota
Wednesday, 03 January 2007

Rugs meant for a business environment will meet different requirements than those for use at home. A rug in a business setting is to some extent an expression of the image that the business seeks to project, so it may require something formal, reserved, or bold and playful; it all depends. But a rug for a place of business will need to stand up to considerable traffic,so it must above all be durable.

Such commercial needs will generally be met by new rugs, but certain types of business, those that seek to project tradition and refinement may require an antique Oriental carpet. Rugs for use at home must reflect the taste of the owner, and in a very profound and personal way, since they provide a constant feature or part of one’s private environment.

But here too, there are practical considerations.I the rug is needed for insulation or to absorb sound, a thicker, perhaps more coarsely woven rug may be required. If it is primarily intended as a home furnishing, a new rug may be the right way to go. If one is a rug enthusiast, it may may be worth the added expense to look for an antique.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Written by David Castriota
Friday, 22 December 2006

Collectors are a special breed of rug enthusiast. While they are motivated fundamentally by a “passion for rugs” and the world that produces them, their interest tends to inordinately intense, knowledgeable, and idiosyncratic. There is no telling what particular set of concerns and objectives will motivate an individual collector, but every collector has such a unique motivation along with a huge store of knowledge accumulated over the years. Collectors literally see rugs differently from other people. They look at rugs creatively, through the lens of knowledge, in a way that allows them to see past problems of condition or damage in order to appreciate the artistic worth of a great piece. At times they are not motivated by the immediate impression that the rug may make, but rather by its uniqueness or its historical importance. In the latter regard, collectors depart substantially from the great majority of rug users and enthusiasts.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Written by David Castriota
Thursday, 14 December 2006

Some people buy a rug purely as a household furnishing. For them a rug is an integral piece of a larger puzzle, like a sofa, table, or a drapery. Others have what may be called a passion for rugs. They are rug enthusiasts, rug lovers. They like the very idea of rugs. They may be quite knowledgeable in terms of rug history or typology, or they may have a purely visual interest and response to the rug, a reaction that perceives the individual personality that all handmade rugs have, especially antique ones.

To a rug enthusiast, the rug is more like a painting. It is a focus of detailed attention. It should go with the accompanying décor, but it is not immediately subordinate to it. For this type of buyer there are various levels of concern and interest.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Written by David Castriota
Friday, 08 December 2006

One of the the more subjective aspects of judging a rug have to do with assessing its quality and its imperfections. When quality is assessed on the basis of the wool, dyes, and weaving technique, it is a fairly objective process. When the issue turns to drawing style, it becomes more of an issue of taste. The same is true with “imperfections.” Dropped knots, looseness or inconsistencies in tightness are technical imperfections. But are abrash - abrupt changes in color, sudden changes in design, or adjustments in proportion at the corners or the borders or ends of the field to be judged as imperfections, or as changes that are part of the deliberate intention of the weaver, and therefore part of her creative expression?

Some buyers may be put off by such qualities. They may prefer a workshop rug that is perfectly straight, with consistent color and design. But others will appreciate that the personality of the village weaver confronts us every time she inserts a willful twist and turn of color or pattern, or in her struggle to maintain straight proportions in a wool foundation, that that she is in a sense alive in the rug in all such variations or inconsistencies.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Contributed by Jason Nazmiyal
Monday, 27 November 2006
The Wagireh or Sampler rug is perhaps the most enigmatic of carpets. Made as a template or pattern for the design and production of larger carpets, they are generally small pieces the size of a scatter rug or mat. They did not show the entire design, but only the basic or fundamental portion of the various larger decorative elements of the field and borders, along with selected individual motifs, which could then be expanded according to established symmetrical repetitions to produce the complete composition.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Contributed by Jason Nazmiyal
Monday, 27 November 2006
The Scandinavian region became aly found their way home with Viking merchants active in Russia and the Byzantine Empire. In the centuries that followed such trade ties introduced the knotted pile carpet from Ottoman Turkey. Indeed one of the earliest surviving Turkish carpets comes from the parish church at Marby, Sweden.

Popularity: 9% [?]