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Owning an
Oriental Rug is owning a magnificent thing of beauty and art. It
can give you joy, warmth and maybe a little magic but you need to
understand what it is you are purchasing so you will be happy with
your new addition. Buying an Oriental Rug should be a careful,
thoughtful plan, since the rug will be with your family for many
years. When you make other major purchases such as an automobile you
do your homework, this should be the same when buying and Oriental
Rug.
The same materials and weaving methods have been used
for over 1,000 years. The main fabrics used is wool, silk or wool
and silk. A weaver ties more than 10,000 knots a day, therefore
taking from several months to over two years to complete a room size
rug. The quality, hence the price is determined by knots per square
inch, quality of the wool or silk, the type of dye used, whether or
not the rug is signed and the country of origin. In the case of
antiques, the condition of the rug and the age are also factors in
the price. If you are looking at a rug and the knots are 1,000 per
square inch, it will give you more wear than one with 100 knots per
square inch. A rug can easily use the wool from an entire flock of
sheep.
The symbols, woven into Oriental Rugs express ideas,
emotions, historical events, legends, hopes, tears, joys and
sorrows. If you see a bat, it represents happiness, a wheel means
law or a butterfly means happiness. The patterns were, in most
cases, named after the city or town where that pattern originated
such as Shah Abbas, Isfahan, Kerman or Bokhara or in areas of Iran,
India or China they may have been named after a King. Currently most
rugs in the U.S. are from China, Pakistan, India or Iran. Antique or
semi-antique rugs can also be found from Iran (Persia) or
Russia,
Owning a fine Oriental Rug is possessing a piece of
history, something for you to enjoy and for that next generation to
admire and remember you by. The next time you see an Oriental Rug in
a home, office or public building remember the time it took to weave
that rug and the historical significance behind it.
Owning a
rug can enrich your life and of the others who see your Oriental Rug
and can share some of that magic.
John Faiz is President of
All Oriental Rug Gallery in downtown Kingsport and is the fourth
generation in his family to operate in the Oriental Rug
industry.
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