Selecting a Handmade Oriental Rug

Handmade oriental rugs are usually more expensive than machine made rugs. This is because making a  handmade oriental rug  is usually a difficult and time consuming affair. Knowing the difference between a handmade oriental rug and a machine made rug is however not easy. Some of the features to help you distinguish them are design, color and craftsmanship. An authentic handmade oriental rug has earthy colors because of the dyes from natural vegetables that is used. Because of the various sets of yarn that the weaver uses, the intensity of color in a single carpet will vary. A handmade oriental rug design is usually traditional and in most cases can be traced back to its place of origin. Other important measures of quality are the materials used, the care taken in the weaving process, and the exact number of knots included in every inch of the carpet.

Choosing the Right Handmade Oriental Rug for Your Home

When selecting the right handmade oriental rug for your home, there are things that can actually help you make a good decision. First of all, you should know exactly where you want to place the rug. If the area you will be putting the rug is a high traffic area, then it is good to use new rugs as opposed to using antiques. Handmade oriental rugs which have contemporary and traditional designs are suited for use in any area. Another thing that you should do is to get the correct measurements of the room. To add beauty and elegance in the room, the design and color of the handmade oriental rug needs to match that  of the room where it will be placed. It can either complement the rooms current theme or act as a piece around which all the furniture revolve around. Lastly you should also consider the price when buying a handmade oriental rug and even though they make better investments as opposed to having a machine made, You should always make sure you get a rug that is worth the money you give for it.

Where to Buy a  Handmade Oriental Rug

You can purchase a handmade oriental rug from e shops on the Internet, or carpeting stores. Even though the Internet has made shopping much more convenient, it may not be the best method to use when purchasing a handmade rug. Performing an online research on rugs is always a good idea but you should take good care about choosing the right seller and you should ascertain the quality of the handmade oriental rug before buying.

Antique Oriental Rugs History

Since the 16^th century and up to the 20^th century, Middle eastern countries have had a great impact on the antique oriental rugs trade. Any antique oriental rugs that were imported to Europe and North America, were mostly from the middle east. Antique oriental rugs date back to many years BC, but it is until the 16^th century that they started being used in a grand scale.

Methods Used By Ancient Antique Oriental Rugs Makers

Antiques oriental rugs scholars have always puzzled over the method that rug makers from the past gave their rugs such rich, deep colors. Nest Rubio and Jack Haldane are two such scholars who have recently tried to replicate ancient dyeing process. Their studies focused on the yarns ability to absorb color red from natural madder root.

Nest and Jack the two scholars figured that antique oriental rug makers didn’t want to use their valuable fuel to heat water that needed to be used to dye the wool for the antique oriental rugs. They figured that the madder dyes absorption must have occurred over a period of time at about temperatures equal to those of making yogurt. These findings by the two scholars Rubio and Haldane showed that the ancient rug makers did not do things in a hurry and also had an excellent mind set. The findings that came from that study shows the ease of the process that is use for dyeing the wool used to make the antique oriental rugs. Wool was most likely soaked for up to one month in a water like solution mixture with 25% Alum. Another mixture of madder root and water was used to soak the wool for 3 to 7 days. The result of these soakings was antique oriental rugs that were very beautiful with vivid reds, pink colors and deep striking Burgundies.

Growth Of the Antique Oriental Rugs Industry

Over time, the rug makers increased the antique oriental rugs in size and many more designs were developed. The rug industry flourished because of many big investments by interested parties from all over the world. The rug making industry has gone from hand made designs to machine made. Many designs have been made from traditions of rug making countries all over the world and today Antique oriental rugs still remain some of the most beautiful carpets of all time.

Bokhara oriental rug patterns

This pattern is common in Uzbekistan and also the Turkman tribal carpets trading location; experts have categorized the Turkmen rugs as having a Bokhara pattern, which consists of a geometric motif or flower (Guls in Persian) that is woven on a reddish background.

Tabriz oriental rug patterns

Tabriz is a popular weaving tradition in Northwest Persia whose roots go as far as the 15th century, a time when the curvilinear design was introduced by the Tabriz weavers. The structure of this pattern is double wefted with the Turkish knot being dominant; the wefts and warps are made of pure cotton. The Tabriz oriental rug patterns can include pictorial rugs, hunting patterns, medallions and prayer patterns.

Kazak oriental rug patterns

Kazak is found in Northwest Azerbaijan; the pattern is structured such that the warp is always natural whereas the weft is brown or red. It will normally include multiple medallions or simply a central medallion.

Kashan oriental patterns

Kahsan is a famous carpet production center found in central Iran; the pattern features beautiful colors and fine weaving which together bring out a beautiful design- the Kashan oriental rug patterns are some of the finest oriental rugs you can find in the market. They are double wefted with weaving done on a cotton foundation with approximately 200 knots per sq inch. You will see a medallion of diamond shape as well as pendants on the top and bottom of the design.

Sarouk oriental rug patterns

Sarouk is widely known for production of floral rugs and is located in central western Iran’s Farahan region. This oriental rug patterns features pink-dark or burgundy colors for the background, or blue in few occasions. The design will normally have patterns of floral sprays in detached form or a central medallion.

The above five are popular and most common in the market, but there are numerous oriental rug patterns that exist; including majestic rugs, shaw rugs, Hellenic rugs, Mahal II Ivory/Beige rug, Burma Silk Kerman Multi rug, Melrose Ispahan Black rug and heritage nain passion oriental rug patterns which is common in central Persia, containing white silk outlinings with a flowerily curvilinear pattern and a frequent Islimi-a star medallion motif. The market is definitely full of a diverse range of oriental rug patterns.