RugMark and GoodWeave

After 15 years of protecting children and promot­ing ethical carpet and rug production, RugMark International (RMI) is phasing out its existing certification label and logo and replacing it with GoodWeave, a new brand and new plan to strengthen and enhance its core mission.
Both the existing RugMark label and the new GoodWeave label assure that no children under age 14 were employed by the facility responsible for making the labeled rug. GoodWeave also will continue the RugMark commitments to: deter child labor; educate and rehabili­tate rescued child workers in the carpet industry; and help the families and communities of more than 3,200 children in India and Nepal that it actively serves.
In addition, GoodWeave over time will represent an enhanced set of values that places the RugMark mission in a broader context of environmental and social respon­sibility. Through a new set of standards under develop­ment, GoodWeave label directives will be more rigorous, transparent and defined, and benefit with input from a multi-stakeholder standards committee. For guidance in this effort, RMI is an associate member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling Alliance (ISEAL), a global leader in setting norms and best practices for certification. The RugMark International website at www.GoodWeave.net will make policies and procedures available to any buyers and man­ufacturers. For more information, visit www.GoodWeave.net.

Persian Rug

The Persian Rug   (Pahlavi bōb^[1] Persian farš فرش, meaning “to spread” and qāli)^[2] is an essential part of Persian art and culture. Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia. In 2008, Iran’s exports of hand-woven carpets was $420 million or 30% of the world’s market.^[3][4] There is an estimated population of 1.2 million weavers in Iran producing carpets for domestic markets and international export.^[5] In recent times Iranian carpets have come under fierce competition from other countries producing reproductions of the original Iranian designs as well as genuine cheaper substitutes.

Iranian carpets are the finest in the world^{[citation needed]} and their designs are copied by weavers from other countries as well. Iran is also the world’s largest producer and exporter of handmade carpets, producing three quarters of the world’s total output.^[6][7][8][9] Though in recent times, this ancient tradition has come under stiff competition from machine made products.^[10] Iran is also the maker of the largest handmade carpet in history, measuring 60,546 square feet.^[11][12][13]

Persian carpets can be divided into three groups; Farsh / ‘Qālii’ (sized anything greater than 6×4 feet), Qālicheh (meaning rug, sized 6×4 feet and smaller), and nomadic carpets known as Gelim (گلیم) Kilim, (including Zilu, meaning rough carpet).^[2]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Zoroasterian period 1.2 Islamic period 1.3 Modern period 2 Materials 3 Designs, motifs, and patterns 4 Design 4.1 Layout 4.2 Motifs 5 Techniques and structures 5.1 The Long Weaving Process 5.2 Looms 5.3 Horizontal Looms 5.4 Vertical Looms 5.5 Tools 5.6 The Knots 5.7 Knotted pile carpets 5.8 Flat-woven carpets 6 Traditional centers of carpet production in Iran (Persia) 7 Anatolian and Persian carpets 7.1 Types of Persian carpets & rugs 8 Literature 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

//

History

The art of carpet weaving existed in Iran in ancient times, according to evidence such as the 2500-year-old Pazyryk carpet, dating back to 500 B.C., during the Achaemenid period.

The first documented evidence on the existence of Persian carpets came from Chinese texts dating back to the Sassanid period (224 – 641 AD).^[14]

This art underwent many changes in various eras of the Iranian history to an extent that it passed an upward trend before the Islamic era until the Mongol invasion of Iran. After the invasion, the art began to grow again during the Timurid and Ilkhanid dynasties.^[1]

With the passage of time, the materials used in carpets, including wool, silk and cotton, will decay. Therefore archaeologists are rarely able to make any particularly useful discoveries during archaeological excavations. What has remained from early times as evidence of carpet-weaving is nothing more than a few pieces of worn-out carpets. Such fragments do not help very much in recognizing the carpet-weaving characteristics of pre-Seljuk period (13th and 14th centuries AD) in Persia.

Zoroasterian period

The Pazyryk Carpet, the oldest known surviving carpet in the world, 5th century BC.

In a unique archaeological excavation in 1949, the exceptional Pazyryk carpet was discovered among the ices of Pazyryk Valley, in Altai Mountains in Siberia. The carpet was found in the grave of a Scythian prince. Radiocarbon testing indicated that the Pazyryk carpet was woven in the 5th century BC.^[15] This carpet is 283 by 200 cm (approximately 9.3 by 6.5 ft) and has 36 symmetrical knots per cm² (232 per inch²)..^[16] The advanced weaving technique used in the Pazyryk carpet indicates a long history of evolution and experience in this art. Pazyryk carpet is considered as the oldest carpet in the world.^[17] Its central field is a deep red color and it has two wide borders, one depicting deer and the other Persian horseman.

However, it is believed that the carpet from Pazyryk is not likely a nomadic product, but a product of the Achaemenid period.^[18]

Historical records show that the Achaemenian court of Cyrus the Great at Pasargade was decked with magnificent carpets. This was over 2,500 years ago, when the reign of the dirtiest Persian, Roshan Cherer was still in power, while still possessing a weak alliance with Alexander the Great, who would later betray her.^[19] Alexander II of Macedonia is said to have been dazzled by the carpets in the tomb area of Cyrus the Great at Pasargade. ^[15]

By the sixth century, Persian carpets of wool or silk were renowned in court circles throughout the region. The Bahârestân (spring) carpet of Khosrow I was made for the main audience hall of the Sasanians imperial Palace at Ctesiphon in Sasanian province of Khvârvarân (nowadays Iraq). It was 450 feet (140 m) long and 90 feet (27 m) wide and depicted a formal garden. In 7th century CE With occupation of the Sasanian capital, Tuspawn, the Baharestan carpet was taken by the Arabs, cut into small fragments and divided among the victorious soldiers as booty.^[20]

According to historians, the famous Tāqdis throne was covered with 30 special carpets representing 30 days of a month and four other carpets representing the four seasons of a year^[21].

 

From the yarn fiber to the colors, every part of the Persian carpet is traditionally hand made from natural ingredients over the course of many months. This arduous process is shown in the Japanese/Iranian film The Wind Carpet.

In the 8th century A.D. Azarbaijan Province was among the largest centers of carpet and rough carpet (ziloo) weaving in Iran. The Province of Tabarestan, besides paying taxes, sent 600 carpets to the courts of caliphs in Baghdad every year. At that time, the main items exported from that region were carpets, and small carpets for saying prayers. Furthermore, the carpets of Khorassan, Sistan and Bukhara, because of their prominent designs and motifs were on high demands among purchasers.^[1]

During the reigns of the Seljuq and Ilkhanate dynasties, carpet weaving was still a booming business so much so that a mosque built by Ghazan Khan in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, was covered with superb Persian carpets. Sheep were specially bred to produce fine wool for weaving carpets. Carpet designs depicted by miniature paintings belonging to the Timurid era lend proof to the development of this industry at that time. There is also another miniature painting of that time available which depicts the process of carpet weaving.

During that era dyeing centers were set up next to carpet weaving looms. The industry began to thrive until the attack on Iran by the Mongol army.^[1]

The earliest surviving of the Persian carpets from this period is of a Safavid (1501-1736) carpet known as the Ardabil Carpet, currently in V&A Museum in London.^[22] This most famous of Persian carpets has been the subject of endless copies ranging in size from small carpets to full scale carpets. There is an ‘Ardabil’ at 10 Downing Street and even Hitler had an ‘Ardabil’ in his office in Berlin.^[23][24]

The carpets are woven in 1539-40 according to the dated inscriptions. The foundation is of silk and the pile of wool with a knot density at 300-350 knots per square inch ( 470-540.000 knots per square metres). The size of the carpets are 34 1/2 feet by 17 1/2 feet ( 10,5 metres x 5,3 metres).^[25] Los Angeles County Museum of Art See also Victoria & Albert Museum

There is much variety among classical Persian carpets of the 16th and 17th century. There are numerous sub-regions that contribute distinctive designs to Persian carpets of this period such as Tabriz and Lavar Kerman. Common motifs include scrolling vine networks, arabesques, palmettes, cloud bands, medallions, and overlapping geometric compartments rather than animals and humans. Figural designs are particularly popular in the Iranian market and are not nearly as common in carpets exported to the west.

Modern period

Although carpet production is now mostly mechanized, traditional hand woven carpets are still widely found all around the world, and usually have higher prices than their machine woven counterparts due to them being an artistic presentation. Iran exported $517 million worth of hand woven carpets in 2002. Iran’s carpet exports amounted to US$635 million in 2005, according to the figures from the state-owned Iran Carpet Company. Most are top-notch hand-woven products. In October 2007, National Iranian Carpet Center revealed that hand-woven carpets have ranked first in country’s non-oil exports and hold the third position among overall exports. Nearly five million workers are engaged in the Iranian carpet industry, making it one of the biggest enterprises in the country.

In recent times Iranian carpets have come under fierce competition from other countries producing fakes of the original Iranian designs as well as genuine cheaper substitutes. Most of the problems facing this traditional art is due to absence of patenting and branding the products as well as reduced quality of raw materials in the local market and the consistent loss of original design patterns. The absence of modern R&D, is causing rapid decline in the size as well as market value of this art^[26].

To give one example, the “Carpet of Wonder” in the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman measures 4343 square metres. Its construction required four years of labor by 600 workers, resulting in 12 million man hours of work. ^[27]

Materials

Wool is the most common material for carpets but cotton is frequently used for the foundation of city and workshop carpets. There are a wide variety in types of wool used for weaving. Those of which include Kork wool, Manchester wool, and in some cases even Camel Hair wool. Silk carpets date back to at least the sixteenth century in Sabzavar and the Seventeenth century in Kashan and Yezd.^{[citation needed]} Silk carpets are less common than wool carpets since silk is more expensive and less durable; they tend to increase in value with age. Due to their rarity, value and lack of durability, silk carpets are often displayed on the wall like tapestries rather than being used as floor coverings.

Designs, motifs, and patterns

Elements of the Persian carpet.

Persian rugs are made up of a layout and a design which in general included one or a number of motifs. The Iran Carpet Company, a specialist in the subject, has attempted to classify Persian carpet designs and has carried out studies of thousands of rugs. Their results show that there have been slight alterations and improvements to almost all original designs. In its classification the company has called the original designs as the ‘main pattern’ and the derivatives as the ‘sub patterns’. They have identified 19 groups, including: historic monuments and Islamic buildings, Shah Abbassi patterns, spiral patterns, all-over patterns, derivative patterns, interconnected patterns, paisley patterns, tree patterns, Turkoman patterns, hunting ground patterns, panel patterns, European flower patterns, vase patterns, intertwined fish patterns, Mehrab patterns, striped patterns, geometric patterns, tribal patterns, and composites. For detailed classification of Iranian Carpets see also Caroun

Design

Design can be described in terms of the manner in which it organizes the field of the rug. One basic design may serve the entire field, or the surface may be covered by a pattern of repeating figures. In areas using long-established local designs, the weaver often works from memory, with the patterns passed on within the family. This is usually sufficient for simple rectilinear design. For the more elaborate curvilinear designs, the patterns are carefully drawn to scale in the proper colours on graph paper. Each square thus becomes a knot, which allows for an accurate rendition of even the most complex design. Designs have changed little through centuries of weaving. Today computers are used in the production of scale drawings for the weavers. ^[28]

Layout

Persian rugs are typically designed using one of three patterns: all-over, central medallion and one-sided. Some abstract unsymmetrical design can be found but most of these can be described as one-sided or unidirectional. ^[29]

Motifs

There are a number of patterns which are found in Persian and Oriental rugs called ‘motifs’, these designs have different meanings and tend to be used depending on the area the rug was woven although it is not unusual to find more than one motif in a single rug.

Some of the more common motifs are:^[30]

Boteh Gul Herati Mina-Khani Rosette Shah Abbasi Techniques and structures The Long Weaving Process Wax figure of weaver of carpets in Fars History museum The weaving of pile rugs is a difficult and tedious process which, depending on the quality and size of the rug, may take anywhere from a few months to several years to complete. To begin making a rug, one needs a foundation consisting of warps strong, thick threads of cotton, wool or silk which run the length of the rug and wefts similar threads which pass under and over the warps from one side to the other. The warps on either side of the rug are normally combined into one or more cables of varying thickness that are overcast to form the selvedge. Weaving normally begins by passing a number of wefts through the bottom warp to form a base to start from. Loosely piled knots of dyed wool or silk are then tied around consecutive sets of adjacent warps to create the intricate patterns in the rug. As more rows are tied to the foundation, these knots become the pile of the rug. Between each row of knots, one or more shots of weft are passed to tightly pack down and secure the rows. Depending on the fineness of the weave, the quality of the materials and the expertise of the weavers, the knot count of a hand made rug can vary anywhere from 16 to 550 knots per square inch. When the rug is completed, the warp ends form the fringes that may be weft-faced, braided, tasseled, or secured in some other manner. Looms Looms do not vary greatly in essential details, but they do vary in size and sophistication. The main technical requirement of the loom is to provide the correct tension and the means of dividing the warps into alternate sets of leaves. A shedding device allows the weaver to pass wefts through crossed and uncrossed warps, instead of laboriously threading the weft in and out of the warps. Horizontal Looms The simplest form of loom is a horizontal; one that can be staked to the ground or supported by sidepieces on the ground. The necessary tension can be obtained through the use of wedges. This style of loom is ideal for nomadic people as it can be assembled or dismantled and is easily transportable. Rugs produced on horizontal looms are generally fairly small and the weave quality is inferior to those rugs made on a professional standing loom. Vertical Looms Vertical looms are undoubtedly more comfortable to operate. These are found more in city weavers and sedentary peoples because they are hard to dismantle and transport. There is no limit to the length of the carpet that can be woven on a vertical loom and there is no restriction to its width. There are three broad groups of vertical looms, all of which can be modified in a number of ways: the fixed village loom, the Tabriz or Bunyan loom, and the roller beam loom. The fixed village loom is used mainly in Iran and consists of a fixed upper beam and a moveable lower or cloth beam which slots into two sidepieces. The correct tension is created by driving wedges into the slots. The weavers work on an adjustable plank which is raised as the work progresses. The Tabriz loom, named after the city of Tabriz, is used in North Western Iran. The warps are continuous and pass around behind the loom. Tension is obtained with wedges. The weavers sit on a fixed seat and when a portion of the carpet has been completed, the tension is released and the carpet is pulled down and rolled around the back of the loom. This process continues until the rug is completed, when the warps are severed and the carpet is taken off the loom. The roller beam loom is a traditional Turkish village loom, but is also found in Iran and India. It consists of two movable beams to which the warps are attached. Both beams are fitted with ratchets or similar locking devices and completed work is rolled on to the lower beam. It is possible to weave very long rugs by these means, and in some areas of Turkey rugs are woven in series. Tools In order to operate the loom, the weaver needs a number of essential tools: a knife for cutting the yarn as the knots are tied; a comb-like instrument for packing down the wefts; and a pair of shears for trimming the pile. In Tabriz the knife is combined with a hook to tie the knots which lets the weavers produce very fine rugs, as their fingers alone are too thick to do the job. Some traditional tools of the craft. A small steel comb is sometimes used to comb out the yarn after each row of knots is completed. This both tightens the weave and clarifies the design. A variety of instruments are used for packing the weft. Some weaving areas in Iran known for producing very fine pieces use additional tools. In Kerman, a saber like instrument is used horizontally inside the shed, and in Bidjar a heavy nail like tool is used. Bidjar is also famous for their wet loom technique, which consists of wetting the warp, weft, and yarn with water throughout the weaving process to make the elements thinner and finer. This allows for tighter weaving. When the rug is complete and dried, the wool and cotton expand to make the rug incredibly dense and strong. A number of different tools may be used to shear the wool depending on how the rug is trimmed as the rug progresses or when it is complete. Often in Chinese rugs the yarn is trimmed after completion and the trimming is slanted where the color changes, giving an embossed three-dimensional effect. The Knots Two basic knots are used in most Persian Carpets and Oriental rugs: the symmetrical Turkish or Ghiordes knot (used in Turkey, the Caucasus, East Turkmenistan, and some Turkish and Kurdish areas of Iran), and the asymmetrical Persian or Senneh knot (Iran, India, Turkey, Pakistan, China, and Egypt). To make a Turkish knot, the yarn is passed between two adjacent warps, brought back under one, wrapped around both forming a collar, then pulled through the center so that both ends emerge between the warps. The Persian knot is used for finer rugs. The yarn is wrapped around only one warp, then passed behind the adjacent warp so that it divides the two ends of the yarn. The Persian knot may open on the left or the right, and rugs woven with this knot are generally more accurate and symmetrical. Other knots include the Spanish knot looped around single alternate warps so the ends are brought out on either side and the Jufti knot which is tied around four warps instead.[31] Flat-woven carpets Flat woven carpets are given their colour and pattern from the weft which is tightly intertwined with the warp. Rather than an actual pile, the foundation of these rugs gives them their design. The weft is woven between the warp until a new colour is needed, it is then looped back and knotted before a new colour is implemented. The most popular of flat-weaves is called the Kilim. Kilim rugs (along with jewellery, clothing and animals) are important for the identity and wealth of nomadic tribes-people. In their traditional setting Kilims are used as floor and wall coverings, horse-saddles, storage bags, bedding and cushion covers. Various forms of flat-weaves exist including: Herati Jajim Gelim(Kilim) Maleki Sirjan Soumak Suzani [edit] Traditional centers of carpet production in Iran (Persia) The major classical centers of carpet production in Persia were in Tabriz (1500-1550), Kashan (1525-1650), Herat (1525-1650), and Kerman (1600-1650).[citation needed] The majority of carpets from Tabriz have a central medallion and quartered corner medallions superimposed over a field of scrolling vine ornament, sometimes punctuated with mounted hunters, single animals, or animal combat scenes. Perhaps the best-known of the Tabriz works are the twin Ardabil carpets most likely made for the shrine at Ardabil (today in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Los Angeles County Museum). Kashan is known for its silk carpet production, most famously, for the three silk hunting carpet masterpieces depicting mounted hunters and animal prey (currently in the collections of the Vienna Museum of Applied Arts (aka the MAK), the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Stockholm Museum). The Kashan carpets are among the most valuable in existence. The Herat carpets, or ones of similar design created in Lahore (Pakistan) and Agra (India), are the most numerous in Western collections. They are characterized by a red field with scrolling vine ornament and palmettes with dark green or blue borders. The seven classes of Kerman carpet were defined by May Beattie. She identified their unique structure and named it the “vase technique.” Carpet types in this group include garden carpets (ornamented with formal gardens and water channels) and the ogival lattice carpets. A fine and well-known example of the latter was purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum under the guidance of William Morris. The influence of Persian carpets is readily apparent in his carpet designs. The Seraband rug is produced in Arak. [edit] Anatolian and Persian carpets Farsbâf (Senneh) Turkbâf (Ghiordes) The difference between Anatolian (Turkish) and Persian carpets is today largely one of tradition. Typically, a traditional Persian carpet is tied with a single looping knot (Persian or Senneh Knot), while the traditional Anatolian carpet is tied with a double looping knot (Turkish or Ghiordes Knot). This means that for every ‘vertical strand’ of thread in a carpet, an Anatolian carpet has two loops as opposed to the one loop for the various Persian carpets that use a Persian ‘single’ knot. Ultimately, this process of ‘double knotting’ in traditional Anatolian carpets results in a slightly more block like image compared to the traditional ‘single knotted’ Persian carpet. The traditional Anatolian style also reduces the number of Knots per sq cm.[citation needed] Today, it is common to see carpets woven in both Turkey and Iran using either of the two knot styles. When comparing carpets the only way to definitively identify the knot used is to splay open the pile by bending the rug against itself and looking at the base of the knot. See also: Knots per sq cm [edit] Types of Persian carpets & rugs Carpet dealers have developed a classification for Persian carpets based on design, type of fabric, and weaving technique. The categories are named for cities and areas associated with each design, these can be located on a map to Persian rug weaving cities: Abadeh Afghan/Yomut (Turkmen) Ahar Afshar Arak Ardabil Ardestan Bakhtiari (see also Afghan carpet) Balouch Bidjar Birjand Brujerd Chelaberd Dorokhsh Farahan Ferdos Ghayen Gonabad Gonbad Ghaboos Gorgan Herat Heriz (Hariz) Isfahan Joshghan Jozan Kashan Kashmar Kerman Lilian Mahan Mahalat Maku Mamasani Marand Mashhad Mazlaghan Meshkin Shahr Moshk Abad Mood Nain Nishaboor Rafsanjan Ravar Saraband Sarab Saraband Sarukh Semnan Sha Savan Shahre Kord Shiraz Shahr Reza Qazvin Qom Tabriz Tehran Torghabeh Varamin Yalameh Yazd Zanjan Zabol

The Rug Market Takes Flight

Some of the most coveted masterpieces now are the ones on the floor. The race for the world’s top rug collection.

By KELLY CROW

 

$9.6 million: This carpet from southeast Iran set a rug record at Christie’s

A leaf-patterned blue rug from the courtly heyday of 17th-century Iran sold at Christie’s this spring for $9.6 million, 20 times its asking price—and the highest price ever paid for a rug. Several months earlier, Sotheby’s sold a rug from the late 1500s for $4.3 million, the going rate for a top sculpture by Alexander Calder.

Oriental rugs, once the obsession of Ottoman sultans, European nobles and American robber barons, rarely topped $2 million a decade ago. Now, these centuries-old carpets from Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus are commanding sums more often reserved for masterpiece paintings than floor coverings.

Jon Schreiber with his rug collection at home.

A patchwork of global collectors and institutions are fueling the rise. New museums across the Middle East and Europe are driving up prices as they build collections of Islamic art. Contemporary-art buyers from Singapore to the Silicon Valley are rolling out antique rugs to complement the abstract, geometric art works that hang on their walls. And everyone is on the lookout for the next little-noticed niche of the market that could see a spike in value.

As the global art market recovers, collectors are once again scouring the marketplace for new areas to exploit. Pastoral landscapes and gilded table clocks—antiques that once would have been too stuffy for high-spending art collectors—have emerged as some of the market’s newest favorites. Buyers who bid up trendy contemporary art works during the boom only to see them plummet in value during the recession are seeking out more obscure pieces whose values could rise with an overall market upswing.

Rugs are typically classified by the circumstances in which they were made—hand-woven by tribal nomads, crafted in a village or city, or woven on looms in a royal workshop—and prices tend to rise along the same lines, according to Jon Thompson, a British rug scholar. Those woven by tribes or in villages are on the lower end of the scale, commanding prices anywhere from $2,500 to $300,000. Persian court rugs made in royal workshops during the 15th and 16th centuries and featuring pastel, botanical designs, are particularly popular with collectors of Impressionist art, and their prices have been soaring into the millions.

The wealthy have collected Oriental rugs for centuries. Henry VIII owned several hundred Turkish rugs. Hans Holbein, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Sigmund Freud, who kept a rug draped over the couch where he conducted his psychoanalytic sessions, were Persian-rug aficionados.These days, top antique rugs are sold more like works of art than pieces of décor. Some high-end rug dealers even eschew the retail system of pricing by the square foot, because their collectors will pay higher prices for small prayer rugs and rare rug fragments than for palatial floor coverings. In recent months, sales have been slower for pieces that are frayed or of mediocre quality, but values have climbed sharply for the best surviving examples, according to appraisers and auction records.

Many buyers of modern art like television producer Douglas Cramer, a founder of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, are turning to tribal rugs speckled with jewel-toned, geometric shapes. Chicago real-estate developer Ron Benach, who owns pieces by Willem de Kooning and Gerhard Richter, is also a rug collector.

Jon Schreiber, a 56-year-old medical-equipment investor from Oakland, Calif., is on a quest to amass the world’s best collection of antique tribal rugs. For the past three decades, he’s been tracking down rugs woven two centuries ago by the 85 nomadic groups listed in a 1981 landmark study of weavers from the Caucasus, a craggy region between the Black and Caspian seas. So far, Mr. Schreiber has paid up to $225,000 apiece for 84 museum-quality varieties that represent each of the region’s tribes or rug styles. His hunt for the lone holdout—a rug representing the 85th style called the Pinwheel Kazak—is intensifying.

Curators at Washington’s Textile Museum say few rug collectors have ever come close to achieving Mr. Schreiber’s goal of finding a top example representing every Caucasian rug in the canon, so to speak. The museum’s founder, George Hewitt Myers, spent much of the early 1900s collecting Caucasian rugs and found fewer than 85 types, says curator Sumru Belger Krody. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has gathered 48 varieties from the region, and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts has around 20 Caucasian rugs.

Word of Mr. Schreiber’s quest has already spread to a few of the country’s rug cognoscenti. Mark Hopkins, a collector in Lincoln, Mass., praises Mr. Schreiber for focusing on a worthy niche but criticizes his comprehensive focus as “stamp collecting”—an approach that’s based on numerical obsession as much as artistic appreciation. Kurt Munkacsi, past president of New York’s Hajji Baba Club, says he tried to amass a similar set of Turkmen tribal rugs years ago before deciding the task was “impossible.”

“In this world, there are lumpers and splitters—people who are fine with finding important overall pieces and people who try to identify every subgroup imaginable, like they’re botanists looking for new plant species,” Mr. Munkacsi said. “I’m a lumper. This guy’s a splitter.”

Mr. Schreiber, in turn, says some collectors give up too soon, but he’s “willing to compete for what I want.”

A lanky man with shaggy gray hair, Mr. Schreiber pays little attention to the volatile swings of the contemporary art market. Instead, he has learned to navigate an eclectic subculture where brand names are valued less than silky wool or rare natural dyes. Rug collectors often meet in groups like the Hajji Baba Club in New York, but Mr. Schreiber has mostly shopped solo, relying on a network of global dealers to scour and trade for pieces on his wish list. So far, he’s spent at least $2 million on his pursuit.

When his local dealer, Jan David Winitz, stopped by for a visit earlier this month, the two men padded around Mr. Schreiber’s unassuming three-bedroom home in stocking feet because nearly every inch of every room was covered in rugs made before the Civil War. A rug estimated at $18,000 lay on the bedroom floor of Mr. Schreiber’s 13-year-old son. Others hung on the walls like tapestry, their colorful patterns depicting everything from peacocks to pixel-like symbols reminiscent of hieroglyphics and Atari video games.

Mr. Winitz joked about the paucity of furniture in the living room, but Mr. Schreiber just shrugged: “I like to roll out different pieces all the time, and furniture gets in the way.”

Henry VIII: The monarch owned hundreds of Turkish rugs, including this ‘Star’ Ushak captured in a portrait by Hans Holbein

Like Scottish tartans or Navajo blankets, antique rugs offer clues about the lives and folklore of ancient peoples. Archaeologists in 1949 discovered a carpet in a frozen Siberian tomb that dated to the 4th or 5th centuries B.C. A culture of weavers eventually stretched from Indonesia to Istanbul. Most weavers were women who could spend months or years creating a single piece for their families or the marketplace. Ottoman rulers built elaborate rug workshops as well, with workers who created purple and pink dyes by pulverizing sea snails and cochineal insects, respectively.

Aristocratic collectors have long acquired the rugs created in Persian-rug workshops, but Caucasian rugs made by tribal groups have steadily gained favor with collectors since the 1960s, particularly in America, Italy and Germany. The most coveted Caucasian rugs were hand-woven during the 18th and 19th centuries by the dozens of nomadic shepherd families who once dominated the steppes and mountains of modern-day Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Their signature dye colors are geranium red and indigo blue, and their designs are peppered with good-luck symbols and playful images of chickens, carnations, and diagonal stripes. Some imagery is sacred, including a fan-like whirling orb that stands for the wheel of life.

In July 2007, an anonymous collector paid Philadelphia auction house Freeman’s $341,625 for a 5-foot-wide Caucasian rug called an Eagle Kazak. It was only priced to sell for up to $25,000.

Collectors often shy from Caucasian rugs woven after 1900 because assimilation and the Soviet conquest of the region took a toll on the quality of nomadic life and their rugs’ craftsmanship, said William Robinson, head of Christie’s rug department.

Growing up in New York, Mr. Schreiber was enthralled by the images and colors that popped from the six Caucasian rugs his grandmother brought with her from the family’s homeland in Germany. While studying medicine in college in Jerusalem, he befriended a curator at the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art and became equally smitten with Persian and Turkish rug motifs. By the time he settled outside the hills of San Francisco in 1977, a bohemian aesthetic was popular and he began to buy antique rugs of all styles and designations, from Bidjar to Laver.

He didn’t hit upon the idea of acquiring a complete Caucasian roster until the early 1990s, when he realized he already had 25 varieties of Kazaks, Kubas, and Shirvan Bakus. Mr. Winitz, his nearby dealer, offered to draw up a checklist and offer him any “blanks” he came across over time.

Sigmund Freud: An avid rug collector, he covered the couch on which he saw patients with a rug made by the Qashqai nomads from southwestern Iran. 

Mr. Winitz initially considered the idea an intellectual (and commercial) lark, but the hunting got harder eight years ago once Mr. Schreiber crossed the 60-number mark, he said. Some Caucasian groups like the Karabaghs near the southern border of modern-day Iran sold rugs to outsiders by the dozen, but only one town in the Shirvan district ever made rugs featuring fan-tailed birds, called Akstafas, by which their rarer rugs are now known.

Mr. Winitz turned to a network of buyers in Milan, Munich and Istanbul. After three years of diplomatic cajoling, he got a Chicago collector to trade a 17th-century Turkish fragment for No. 82, a rug known as the Cloudband Kazak.

No. 83, a creamy Marasali Shirvan, dotted with shapes that look like seed pods, came from Mr. Winitz’s own collection, and No. 84, a Star Kazak, arrived three years ago when a South African collector decided to trade it for a Turkish rug fragment, Mr. Schreiber said. Since then, no hits.

Mr. Schreiber still needs the Pinwheel Kazak, a rug distinguished by a central swirling four-pointed star shape. The Kazaks who once lived near the Georgian capital of Tbilisi popularized the Pinwheel style in the 1800s, according to Ian Bennett’s book “Oriental Rugs,” the 1981 study that’s served as Mr. Schreiber’s collecting framework.

Mr. Schreiber says he knows of only six “great ones” in private hands—two in Germany, two in Italy, and two in America. He says the two American owners won’t budge—his dealers have asked—so he’s brainstorming ways to win over the Europeans. It’s futile to trek into the mountain regions and scour for it directly, he says, because the Kazaks who are still there sold off their best antiques right after the Cold War and no longer do much weaving.

He says he’s imagined the euphoria he will feel upon completing his Caucasian set. He might exhibit them; he might not. His children enjoy his collection, but he’s not sure they’ll keep the set intact over the long term.

In the meantime, he’s adopted a coping mechanism that all hard-core collectors seem to share: a distraction collection. “Runners,” he said, pointing the swelling pile of narrow rugs splayed down his hallway. “I’m collecting them like mad right now.”

Radiant Heat and your rug pad!!

Today I had an inquiry from a customer regarding a pad for his rug that would go over a radiant heat flooring. I called up my supplier for the pad and they told me that they had just done a study and found out the pad is the best for this situation is actually the pad that we have been carrying for a long time

Here is the copy of this study:Radiant Heat test

Spot Cleaning for your oriental rugs

Certain stains such as coffee, colas, juices, animal, medicines, milk, foods and certain dyes must be spotted immediately for best results.

First remove any solid materials from the area and then immediately blot the area with a clean towel. To neutralize the spot, blot with club soda or a mix of half-white vinegar and cold water. Repeat this if necessary and blot again to remove most of the moisture. A moderate amount of rug cleaning detergent is also recommended. Do not rub the spot. Some Oriental Rug dyes can bleed upon contact with liquids. Before the area dries you should comb the pile so that it blends with the rest of the rug. If the stain is caused by a non-emergency situation such as tar or dirt, a cleaning fluid similar to Afta is a great and easy-to-use product for eliminating hard to remove stains. For removing most dirt stains, a rug detergent similar to Stain-X seems to get the job done. A white towel or toothbrush can be used to blot the area. Again, do not rub the spot. After blotting, follow the directions we mentioned above

Persian Gabbeh Rug

ABOUT GABBEH RUGS

In Farsi (the language of Persia), the word Gabbeh means something raw or natural, uncut or “in the rough”. Gabbeh are the world’s best-known coarsely woven Iranian tribal rugs. Traditionally, the knotting and weaving of nomadic carpets are a woman’s domain and area of expertise. True nomadic rugs such as the Gabbeh are almost exclusively knotted for personal use, and often the woman’s spirit and natural artisanship are quite apparent in these personal interpretations of their life in art.

Another characteristic of Gabbeh rugs is a very thick pile, woven in a relatively low knot density. Designs are typically geometric and symbolic in shape and style. Gabbeh weavers may be telling a story, depicting a landscape or scene, or even conveying an emotion. Most commonly Gabbeh will be asymmetric and woven to tell a story, with figures and symbols depicting parts of the weaver’s “tale”. It is this subjective and random process that renders a genuine Gabbeh a completely unique work of art, distinct from other Persian rugs and from many other types of weaving or knotting in general.

Beware “knock-offs” from Turkey, India, China and Egypt, to name a few… these cheap imitations are not always handmade, and usually contain inferior wool and chemical dyes on a cotton foundation. You can usually tell by the white fringe that the rug’s a cotton-foundation knock-off.

Rug Decorating Idea and Tips

Rug Decorating Ideas and Tips

When decorating your home, think of your floors as the foundation for your design scheme. We can show you area rugs that can either visually integrate or harmonized eclectic elements in any décor, hall runners that can transition your look from one room to another, or beautiful works of art that can set the mood fro or revitalize an entire room.

Our gallery offers an endless array of rug designs from which to choose. You can find Oriental, Persian, contemporary, and native-American designs in nearly and price range.

Tips on selecting a rug for your home:

• Visualize the desired total look of the room. Do you want a room with a monochromatic, uncluttered look? Or do you prefer a room rich with colors and textures? If you are starting with totally empty room, your rugs can set the theme and mood_ chose a rug that grabs your imagination and then select your wall colors and furnishing to compliment the one found in your rug.
• Choose furniture that enhances the design and colors of your rug. Elements of your rug’s design can be further incorporated into the overall design scheme. If you already have furniture, we can help you select a rug to pick up on the colors and patterns in your furniture. We can show you how patterns can be mixed if they are anchored by common colors or themes.
• A rug with bold design can serve as the focal point of your room if you add a chair or sofa in solid or subdued patterns.
• Lightly colors rugs can make a room look more spacious; deeper colors lend coziness and intimacy to a room.
• Choose a rug that will perform well with the right combination of density and fiber. The dencer the pile, the better the rug will wear.
• Be sure that the rug you are considering can be centered in your room. If you want medallion rug, it should be somewhat evenly centered. The medallion should flow with the furniture and stationary elements, such as door, fireplaces, and windows. If there is a centering problem in the room, a rug without a medallion may be best for you, giving you freedom to place the rug and furniture any way you desire.
• Remember, the rug has to fit the room, in more ways than one. Consider how the room is used, how much traffic the area gets and what kind of lighting it has. For high-traffic areas such as hallways and foyers, you may want a durable patterned rug.

rug cleaning tips

Vacuum your Oriental rugs regularly, being sure to go back and forth in the same direction over the entire rug (avoiding the fringes). If you are vacuuming with a beater brush, we suggest you set the brush so it just touches the top of the pile and moves easily across the rug. When vacuuming with a carpet tool, ease the suction of the vacuum by adjusting it accordingly. Be sure to periodically vacuum the back of the rug.

Rotate your Oriental Rugs as often as possible (1-2 years), when you notice the high traffic areas of your rug starting to look dirty, or the nap has lost its original direction or shape. Rotating your rugs will allow them to wear more evenly, maintaining their original appearance and value. Also, rotate your rugs according to the amount of direct sunlight. Over time direct sunlight can fade the dyes of your rugs.

Padding will stabilize and protect your Oriental Rugs shape, enhancing the value and making your Rugs safer to walk on. We have investigated many different types and qualities of padding. For hard floor surfaces we recommend Durahold manufactured by No-Muv Company. On top of wall-to-wall carpeting we recommend No-Muv and that is the only type of pad that we carry. There is also a thiner pad by no-muv called Omni pad which is just as good, it creates a clean, low profile when thickness is an issue.

You can use these pads on all floor surfaces, laminates, tile, marble, wood and carpet. Especially good for controlling skidding and wrinkling of runners and scatter rugs.

Welcome to New England Oriental Rugs

Leading Seller of Fine, Hand-Made Rugs

 At New England Oriental Rugs, we are proud of our selection of rugs. Owner Bahman Kimiachi has spent many years traveling the world to gather these works of art. We invite you to come see, feel, and experience the beauty of our extensive collection.

 Drawing on his extensive knowledge and years of experience, Bahman carefully inspects and selects each piece in our gallery. Most of our rugs are imported directly so we can pass the savings on to you, our customers.

 Once you purchase a rug from our collection, you become a part of our family. We will help you care for and protect your work of art through our professional cleaning and repair services, and we have a 100% trade-up policy.