Quality
There are many factors that affect the quality of a rug,
and there are many factors outside quality that may affect price.
One of the simplest ways to look at objective measures of
quality is to divide them into two groups- materials and labor. Rugs are typically
made of a combination of cotton, wool and/or silk, and each material has advantages
and disadvantages. Wool, silk and cotton are all used as foundation materials,
and all are of essentially the same quality, although cotton is significantly
less expensive. The pile may be made of wool or silk, or occasionally a mix
of the two. Wool comes in a large range of quality grades, with much of the
best wool currently coming from New Zealand. Exceptionally fine "kurk"
wool comes from the shoulders and flanks of shearling Persian mountain sheep,
and pashmina (cashmere) wool is sheared from Himalayan mountain goats. Silk
is the unraveled cocoons of the silkworm, and although not necessarily higher
in quality than wool, is typically more expensive (silkworms are a lot smaller
than sheep!)
Another objective factor in quality determination is the
amount of time spent to create the rug. Coarser wool yarns produce coarser knots,
which in turn produce a rug more quickly. Silk can be spun to a much finer thread
than wool, and so some of the most finely-detailed rugs are knotted from silk.
The extremely high knot counts of these rugs require extremely long weaving
times. Other subtleties of the rug's construction (knot type, weft thread pattern,
etc.) may affect both the time to produce the rug and its durability. A final
factor that has strong effect on the production time is the number of colors
and complexity of pattern. These factors combine to create a time to weave which
is a good measure of quality.
Even once these factors are all taken into account, there
are subjective measures of quality that are agreed upon by experts as valid
measures. These include authenticity of design, aesthetics of the color and
shading used in the pattern, and the "handle" (feel to the touch)
of the rug.
For collectors, factors such as age and specific
geographical origin of the rug may strongly affect price, although there may be
no inherent objective difference in quality between an antique Persian piece and
a well-made Indian or Chinese reproduction of the same rug. Like any
collectible, rarity has a huge effect on value, even though rarity has no direct
relevance to quality.
The final, most subjective and perhaps the most important
measure of quality is do you like it? A rug in your home is a protective
floor covering, a relaxation surface you will touch regularly, and a work of
art. You should select one that you love, for style, color, pattern, and feel
- all the things that make an oriental a part of your visual and tactile environment.
