Rugs (was this a deal or no deal?)

[Morning Star]

I was looking to purchase my first oriental rug about 3 years ago but the choices were overwhelming for someone who knew very little about rugs. I knew that it would be very easy for me to overpay because of my ignorance. I decided to go into the rug district in New York. The rug district is shrinking because of increasing rents but there are still quite a number of stores that instead of having one hundred rugs for sale, literally have thousands of rugs to choose from, of every quality and from every rug making country.

I did know enough to think in terms of price per square foot and I figured if I spent no more than $20 per square foot for a hand woven rug there was no way I could overpay (I know that's not much). I told the merchant, who was Iranian, that I was looking for a tribal, very rustic hand woven rug. He showed me a bunch and I ended up buying the pictured rug. Long story short, I haggled and ended up paying $17/square foot (I bought a second slightly smaller for the same price per sq. foot as a package deal). I believe the rug was woven in Pakistan and has about 60 knots per square inch. I think it is hand spun wool but not sure of the dyes. It does have abrash and the dye is a bit uneven in some spots as opposed to very uniform.

I know this rug will never hang in a museum but I think it's a nice rug for the price. I've since learned more about rugs and have bought others, including a couple of woven legends rugs. However, I like this simple inexpensive rug that I purchased first. If any expert can comment on the rug make and quality please do. I'd like to learn anything I can about it. Thanks.