It is the curiosity about Tibetan culture which is worldwide, and that mystique of the high Himalayas which has created this demand for Tibetan rugs. You are going to find motifs of tigers and dragons appearing quite regularly.

China, although it does have its areas of rug weaving, does not produce hand woven rugs to the extent that many other countries do, Tibet being one of them.

Tibetan rugs are greatly sought after in China, but unfortunately there are a lot of copies made actually in China. The authentic Tibetan oriental wool rugs have quite a rich color pallete and apparently quite a unique weaving method.

Even experts have been misled into thinking that they are buying a genuine Tibetan rug woven for instance, in Lhasa, only to find that the rug was actually woven in Qinhai [China]. The rug being woven with an actual mixture of motifs, some from China, some from Tibet.

You need to know that Tibetan carpets are always going to be small in size, simply because their original use was as a sleeping mat. So, beware, if you are being shown [or sold] a rug as a genuine Tibetan wool rug which is, as an example perhaps 1.5 meters x 2 meters or something like that.

The best wool to be used for these rugs is from sheep that live high in the mountains. The reason for this is because not only does their wool coat grow long to keep them warm, the sheep produce extra lanolin also to keep them warm at the high altitudes.

This makes for a very soft but durable wool which is largely stain resistant.

It is actually a great pity that the antique rugs produced in China are not more valued. Their quality and variety of design are really well worth looking at.

Some of the contemporary Chinese carpets have deceptively simple designs with maybe only 3 shades incorporated into the design. Very simple designs are used to great effect.

Any type of oriental wool rugs is a family heirloom in the making. Quite honestly some of them are so beautiful it would be a sin and a shame to put them on the floor for people to walk on. I would like to see more used as wall hangings so that you can really appreciate the wonderful designs and there would be no wear and tear to the rugs.

Obviously with a rug made from wool or wool/cotton you need to make sure you keep it free of months. These creatures can do so much damage to a thing of beauty. They don’t appreciate just what it is they are munching on. It is simply food to them.

Anybody’s home can be enhanced by having one of these beautiful oriental wool rugs, either on the floor or on the wall. They will make a definite statement about the home owner, about their taste and style of decoration.

Oriental Wool Rugs is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Oriental Wool Rugs is from Wool Oriental Rugs

When you are spending the kind of money that you expect to pay for a genuine Persian rug you need to know that you are going to get the genuine article and not a fake or a new modern version at the old antique price!

You can understand why the genuine rugs are expensive when you consider that all the knots are tied by hand and there are hundreds to the square inch. It can actually take a weaver six months to produce a 9′ x 12′ rug, they are definitely not mass produced.

The materials used as wool from sheep or goats [in some cases even camels], cotton, silk or even a combination of all three. Wool can come in many different qualities but the highest quality comes from Tibet and New Zealand.

You will notice color variations in the genuine Persian rug that have vegetable dyed wool as against the modern chemical dyed materials. I think the color variations are what lend charm to the antique rugs.

Apart from the color variations between the old and new there is the fact that the traditional Persian rugs will have differences in their design whereas machinery produced rugs will all be exactly the same, you will not be getting anything unique.

As well as all the other benefits I have mentioned from buying Persian rugs, there is always the point that wool rugs will not burn like synthetic materials, wool doesn’t stain like synthetics and wool can shed water. Dirt doesn’t sink to the bottom of the pile of woolen carpets unlike synthetic materials. The woolen rug is a very good insulator in the cold weather and feels so good under your feet.

The designs come in three general categories, geometric, floral or pictorial. You will probably know what you are looking for before you even set out on your expedition for buying Persian rugs.

Whichever you choose I am sure you will love what it does for your home for many years and when you don’t need it any more it can become a family heirloom making it a very good investment.

Buying Persian Rugs is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Buying Persian Rugs is from Wool Oriental Rugs

Under the heading of city rugs comes Afshar rugs. These are usually a smaller variety with an all over design of geometric style patterns, with diamond shaped medallions all connected to each other. The color pallete is fairly dark for instance dark red, dark reddish brown, dark blue etc. Most often they are made completely from wool but sometimes they are made with a cotton base.

Next comes Tabriz rugs – the coloring of these rugs is much lighter, in fact almost pastel with a varied selection of colors including pink, peach, camel, beige and ivory with the motifs colored in blues,greens,yellows,oranges and lavender. This type of rug usually has a silk and wool combination pile with silk highlights.

Kashan rugs – this type features long diamond shaped medallions with much floral detail. You will get other details like hunting scenes, vases and pictures. Most Kashan rugs have similar background colors of Navy Blue, rich red, beige and ivory. Other colors feature in the designs including red, turqoise, blue, beige, ochre, white and brown. Sometimes you might find a little green included in the designs.

Kerman rugs – these particularly use pictorial designs. They use a nice color range from reds, blues limey green, pink ivory, orange and beige shades, a very nice combination. The Kerman rugs are really quite famous for their picture content.

Baluch – yet another style of Persian rug. These come from southern Iran and the members of the Baluch tribe hand weave these rugs. They are a nomadic people and use the ancient Persian traditional methods and colors which were used about 2500 years go. Their designs comprise all over patterns with a very small pallete of rich dark reds , navy blue and ivory being the main shades used.

Shiraz rugs – These rugs are woven in Shiraz which is in central Iran. These rugs feature very simple, almost crude designs and textures, i.e. they have a long pile. Animals and plants feature in the designs with very plain colors. The main color on these rugs is red.

Wiss rugs – these are tribal rugs from Wiss which is situated near Hamedan in Iran. These rugs have quite traditional designs with flora, foliage, palmettos, garden type elements and vases. The main color in these designs is dark red.

These are just a few of the best Persian rugs. With ten thousand villages in Iran currently producing Persian rugs you can imagine just how much choice there is and with each weaver putting in their own interpretations of designs just how huge the choice is, it really is mind boggling.

Best Persian Rugs is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Best Persian Rugs is from Wool Oriental Rugs

The name Qum comes from the holy city of Qum in Central Persia [Iran]. This weaving center is relatively young in the hierarchy of carpet weaving since production was not started until the 1930′s.

Designs vary but the most popular ones feature the medallion motif. The Qum carpets are beautiful but not considered as sophisticated as those from Kashan.

The colors of Qum carpets can be brighter and a lot more colorful than some other types, but they are not quite as rich as Kashan.

The use of silk seems to have started before 1961, and in the 1950′s and 1960′s you would find Qum carpets having silk outlines, or wool rugs with silk motifs and all other combinations of wool and silk used in production of these carpets.

The majority of the Qum rugs and carpets are beautiful to look at, therefore many people use them as wall hangings. The more recent carpets are of a better quality but most Qum carpets, being made from pure silk, are amongst the finest looking rugs in the world.

If you are wanting something that is stunning to look at, particularly the silk ones to be used as wall hangings, you could do no better than to invest in a Qum carpet.

Qum Carpets is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Qum Carpets is from Wool Oriental Rugs

Persian rugs were traditionally hand made therefore by definition they are going to be expensive. However, modern methods enable the production of Persian designs that can start from a price as low as $50, depending on size.

You can get your bargain price by obtaining a good discount from buying online. There are many sites advertising Oriental rugs with a much cheaper price than you would expect to pay to a retailer. Many of the site owners are wholesalers and exporters. This way you could probably get an authentic Persian rug for a more reasonable price.

Cheap Persian rugs can mean a product that is cheap quality or it can mean an item that is inexpensive. These are two very different meanings to the words ‘cheap Persian rugs’.

Not everyone is looking to buy an antique rug, they simply want one with a beautiful design with which to decorate their home. If you are just looking for a decorative rug, but not an expensive hand made version then you should be looking at one machine made from synthetic fibers.

Even though you perhaps buy a machine made version of a Persian design you are still going to get a nice looking product which you can enjoy for years to come.

Cheap Persian Rugs is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Cheap Persian Rugs is from Wool Oriental Rugs

The quality of the wool, silk or cotton used to produce these rugs is very important. Rugs made in Iran are made from the best materials and the knots used by the weavers in Iran [formerly Persia] are different from knots used in other countries.

Handmade Persian rugs from Iran will always be more expensive than Indian copies, so always be sure that the rug dealer you use is scrupulously honest in his dealings. Don’t just take his word for it, check around, do your homework. After all, this is an expensive item you are contemplating buying, you don’t want to make a mistake.

There is a huge demand for antiques these days, and handmade Persian rugs are up there with the most requested. Items that were produced centuries ago and have clearly stood the test of time are valued once more and become very desirable.

The handmade Persian rug is not only functional but it can be viewed as a work of art, which it is. If you were to think of a Persian rug that is centuries old, it could well be valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even more. Rugs of this age are very rare and those produced in the 1800′s are more likely to be available and probably more affordable.

When choosing which rug to buy you should make sure it is clean because dirty patches could cover damage, plus to keep a rug in good order it is essential that it is kept clean. The wear on it should be evenly distributed and if it has had some damage renewal it shouldn’t have been patched, it should have been re-woven.

Above all, make sure you are dealing with a reputale dealer who can prove the age and origin of your handmade Persian rug for your satisfaction. Because they are in such demand there are fakes around, be sure you do not end up with one of them. If you are not sure, get a professional to take a look for you, it would be money well spent to get their advice.

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Handmade Persian Rugs is from Wool Oriental Rugs

A word of warning – do not allow yourself to be tricked into paying too much, more than the rug is actually worth.

Origin is of paramount importance in Persian rugs, for instance rugs which are made, all hand knotted, in Iran are generally believed to be the best you could buy. Quality of materials and the amounts of knots per square inch are indicative of the true value of a silk Persian rug, and the same goes for a woolen rug. The more knots per square inch the better, this makes the rug more valuable.

Antique Persian rugs will bring a very good price at auction when their age goes back a century or more. When a silk Persian rug is round this age there must be a lot of history attached to it, for instance, where has it been for the last hundred years? Where in the world and with what kind of people? If only it could talk!

You might find a silk Persian rug used as a wall hanging, such is their beauty. Because of the material used to produce this rug being naturally more fragile than wool and not to mention more expensive, I think you would feel it something of a sacrilege to walk on it. Better to hang it and be able to see and appreciate its beautiful design.

Because the genuine woolen or silk Persian rug is hand made there is always a certain amount of artistic license applied to the design. You will find usually that the design is quite unique, there will be differences between that one and all the rest. The weavers liked to put in their own little quirky changes to the designs.

If you buy the best you can afford in a silk Persian rug you can rest assured that it will last your lifetime and beyond, becoming a family heirloom. If you are careful and get the genuine article you are making a good investment and also buying something that will enhance your home for a long time to come.

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Silk Persian Rug is from Wool Oriental Rugs

For a good example you could be looking at paying $45,000 to $60,000 for a rug measuring around 9′ x 12′.

There are different types of Sarouk rug, for instance a Ferehan, a Feheran Sarouk, a Malayer or Josan, and it helps to know something of the differences between them.

One of the types from the 1800′s was the Ferehan [it must be noted it is just called a Ferehan - not a Ferehan Sarouk]. The Ferehan’s were made from around 1875 to 1913 or thereabouts. Nearly all of these had rose madder backgrounds with all over designs, no medallions.

These specimens are rarely found these days because they probably have all worn out. Later from around 1890 to 1914 another weave appeared just known as Sarouks, but since then they have become known as Ferehan Sarouks.

These do not look like the original Ferehans in that they are finer, with around 270 knots per square inch and they are heavier being double-wefted. This design often features medallions with backgrounds of blue or ivory.

Because the Ferehan Sarouks have become so rare thus their price has escalated to make them extremely expensive. The other two types mentioned above, the Malayer and Josan made in different villages are often mistaken for Sarouk rugs because their designs are similar in that they feature medallions, but they are not of the same standard as Ferehan Sarouks.

It seems also that copies of the old Sarouks have been made in India with not much success but lately the quality has improved, they are better made and are using some of the older designs. Many of the producers of these rugs have managed to duplicate the beautiful old rose color, but even so, they will never look quite the same as an old Ferehan Sarouk.

If you are looking for a Sarouk rug it is best to go to a reputable dealer who is able to show or tell you the difference between the different types of Sarouk rug. If you are going to spend a serious amount of money on a Sarouk rug make sure you are getting what you are paying for.

Sarouk Rug is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Sarouk Rug is from Wool Oriental Rugs

The weavers of Kashan have more than 500 years of experience in producing beautiful carpets and rugs, more or less continually. The fame of these rugs was so widespread that in the 1500′s and 1600′s the city had Royal workshops which provided for Kings from all over the world who came in person to buy a Persian Kashan rug.

There is one specimen that can be seen in the Royal and Albert museum in London, England and is said to date from 1542.

Rug manufacturing took second place to garment manufacturing during the 1800′s but it wasn’t long before rug production was back in ascendancy.

You can easily recognize a Persian Kashan rug because of the small number of colors and most of the designs feature a diamond shape in the middle. The colors are mostly ivory, red, navy blue and a little green. Sometimes you can find ocre, olive green, white and maybe brown.

The combination of these colors gives a very pleasing design, quite soft, not bold in any way that makes it very good for use with classical decor.

You will find that the carpets usually have a cotton base of weft and warp with wool worked onto this base to present a tight, short and thin woolen pile. The best examples are definitely the ones produced from silk. Any other carpet with over 700 knots per square inch plus the silk ones are rare and you will have to pay a price in accordance with this rarity.

The Persian Kashan rug has to be one of the most exquisite examples of the rug weaver’s art, but you must be vigilant and be aware that there are fakes around. These are made from chemically dyed materials and have a low ratio of knots per square inch.

If you want the beauty of a Persian Kashan rug in your home just beware the fakes. If you want a rug that will become your family heirloom take care to buy carefully and avoid being cheated by being supplied with a fake.

Persian Kashan Rug is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Persian Kashan Rug is from Wool Oriental Rugs

Traditionally woven by nomadic tribes to keep themselves warm in their tents, these rugs have definitely become a luxury product and not just a mundane item to keep out the cold.

A Persian wool rug is made to last and will continue to give pleasure for years to come, they mellow with age. You may even be able to find one that has gold thread woven into it which obviously will increase it’s value. There could be several miles of threat in just one design.

Genuine articles have their wool colored using natural dyes that are obtained by using plants, tree bark, fungi, roots and even insects. As your rug ages the colors will alter but they will always look beautiful and blend perfectly.

These traditionally made rugs have stories woven into them as a way of passing on folklore to allow one generation to learn from the previous one. Having a Persian wool rug cannot fail to enhance any room that you choose to place it in and it will certainly increase in value and become a family heirloom.

In the original traditionally made rugs you could find some imperfections and these were placed there on purpose because the weaver believed that only God could produce absolute perfection.

No two rugs will be identical to each other, each weaver adds his own interpretation of the traditional designs. Therefore you are going to have something that is quite unique in your home, if you choose to purchase a hand made Persian wool rug.

Persian Wool Rug is a post from: Wool Oriental Rugs

Persian Wool Rug is from Wool Oriental Rugs