Rugs (was this a deal or no deal?)

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.

Attachment 9656Attachment 9657Attachment 9659Attachment 9662Attachment 9664

For the price, it's excellent. That's a machine-made rug, it's too perfect and uniform to be hand-knotted, but that's OK. At $ 17 per s.f. you have a lot of value in the rug. If you have a rug or two from Woven Legends then I would imagine you can easily see the difference.

Respectfully, there is no way that is a machine made rug. Just look at the consistency of the knots on the back of the rug. I was bitten by the rug bug a few years ago and have tried to learn as much as possible about them. I am still a novice compared to most but some rudimentary points. If that rug were machine made, the knots would be knotted around the wefts as opposed to the warps and the selvage and fringe would be glued or sewn into place. That is not the case. It is constructed with a classic symmetrical knot. It is a Pakistani rug and just a copy of an Afghan tribal rug. Pak rugs range in quality and price but in the rug world are considered (among some) inferior to rugs from Iran and Turkey. Some are absolutely amazing but because they are Pakistani, they are not regarded as world class rugs. However, they are very cheap relative to a Persian or Turkish rug. As far as the Woven Legends rugs go, they are very fine but also range widely in quality. I have one that I paid about $50 per square foot for and it really is no better than a number of Indian-Pak rugs I have. I have another that I paid more for because I absolutely loved the design but I don't think you have to pay $100 a square foot for a great rug these days. I think it is definitely a buyer's market.

You may be correct! Upon closer examination of the photos, I do see inconsistencies in the pattern which a machine made rug does not have. I do agree the rug market has taken a hit in recent years as well and there is wide variance in pricing and TONS of confusion over where carpets are coming from and the quality from various countries. Turkey is seeing a higher standard of living which translates into the labor force demanding higher wages, that has not happened in Pakistan and China where the rugs are produced for less.

Yes, the knots on the back are far from being uniform and each one is slightly different. A machine made rug's knots are all perfectly identical. The construction is definitely hand woven. Also, the oriental rug merchant I bought it from has been in business in Manhattan for about a hundred years and I strongly doubt a machine made rug has ever entered its shop. I just think I hit it right and the owner was looking to move a couple of rugs so he gave me a nice deal.