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I'm wondering if anyone can suggest some possible brands for the two rugs below. I'd like to scout them out further on the internet to determine if I'm getting what I'm paying for...but that's tough without knowing what brand they might be. I've searched a number of different online retailers but haven't been able to find them.
Both rugs are hand knotted wool rugs made in India. Thanks for any suggestions!
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Those appear to my eye to be machine made rugs, they're too perfect and uniform to be done on a loom by hand. The dyes are also very bland, so my guess is they are Chromium, not Vegetable dyed.
Its difficult to say so with any degree of accuracy however, need to see them in person and touchie-feelie. Have you flipped them over and actually inspected them to see if they are hand-knotted or just taken someones word for it?
The best rugs have no "brand", they are village made, by hand. Here's a place that has fine rugs, for example. These are the real deal in reproduction carpets, priced about $ 50 to $ 80 per s.f.
http://www.materialculture.com/galle...?idCategory=31
While not an expert I did study rugs for a while when I was younger and purchased a number of pieces. For a reference I would recommend the link below as a starting point. I have purchased from this vendor and know a couple of the principals. This is a reputable firm and will be able to ID your items and possibly give additional information. Indian made rugs generally are of lesser value than true Persian made. The quality of the wool or silk content, knot count, knot type, dye, size and design all come into play. For collectors, the age, condition, unique qualities (size/color/silk/etc.) and origin also are important for determining value. Only a experienced dealer can give you true value but Duane's $50-$80/s.f. would be a reasonable estimate for a good quality handmade Indian in good condition.
www.Jacobsenrugs.com
Thanks for the replies. I looked at the rugs and they definitely appear to be hand-knotted based on the irregularities of the knots, the way the fringe is sewn on, the pattern on the back of the rug, the flexibility of it, etc. They are definitely not unique, though - there were others in the stack of rugs with the same patterns. I know these aren't true Persians and that's okay - not what I need for this purpose. I'm guessing that there are companies that make hand-knotted ones more en masse than the Persian ones that take years to make?
The "full price" of these is ~$40/sf, with a "sale price" of ~$30/sf. There's quite a bit of markup on the machine made ones in this store and I suspect these rugs are marked up as well - but it's hard to tell without knowing exactly what they are and being able to compare prices.
I'll check out the Jacobsen site - thanks for the suggestion!
Here are a couple of other rug merchants you might want to check out. Eiland is a recognized authority (he wrote a book on Persian rugs), and you can sometimes find good deals in the bargain section on their website.
http://www.internetrugs.com/
I bought my entry and hall rug from these folks. They're handknotted and made in India--nothing special, but they wear like iron. Their prices are very reasonable and they have great sales 2-3x/year. Here's a photo of the rug I bought (in 2 different sizes). Not as orange as it appears in the photo:
http://www.themagiccarpet.biz/ItemDe...0&totalRows=15
Here's what it looks like in my hallway (see attached photo--photo's a little fuzzy, sorry).
Both of these merchants are careful not to purchase rugs made with child labor--a pervasive problem in both India and Pakistan (not in Iran). If you purchase rugs from a large department store, for example, unless the rugs carry the Rugmark brand, there's a good chance they were made with child labor. I only know this because I did an enormous amount of research on oriental rugs before making my purchases.