The term "antique" is applied by collectors to pieces 100 years or more in age. Few such rugs are now in the hands of dealers.
Prices are based on the age or rarity of the individual specimen rather than on intrinsic excellence, as is the case with antique furniture or rare books. Only the expert is competent to recognize an antique rug or to judge of its quality or value.
Many rug merchants, department stores, and furniture stores advertise and sell as antiques any unwashed rugs which have been more or less aged and softened by use in the Orient, and which conform measurably in technique and character of design to antique standards. It is also a common practice to sell as antiques purely modern unwashed pieces reproduced in the old designs, particularly if such pieces have been aged artificially by some such method as exposure to bazaar traffic for a few weeks or months. Both practices are discountenanced by dealers of the highest standing, who apply to rugs of these kinds the term "semi-antique."
"Washing" and "Painting" of orientals.—Oriental rugs are usually woven in relatively bright, strong colors. In order to soften these colors to a point where they can be used effectively in the decoration of modern American homes, most rugs upon arrival in this country are given a treatment known to the trade as "washing" before they are offered for sale. (This is the same treatment given to "sheen type" domestics.) The mild reagents employed soften all the colors of good rugs without bleaching them or impairing their fastness to light. Poor wool is sometimes injured, and poor dyes bleached by the washing process; but the statement frequently encountered in books and magazines that any washed rug is undesirable is utter nonsense. The fact is, that, genuine antique rugs aside, most of the fine oriental rugs in this country are washed rugs, and innumerable fine homes use them. The high luster imparted to the wool as a part of the washing process is not permanent, and tends to disappear under the hard service requirements of small American homes.
Many rugs are retouched with dyestuffs, or "painted," after they have been washed; that is, parts of the design are treated with dyes applied with the brush by hand in order to alter certain colors, usually by deepening their tone. The dyes cannot be boiled into the wool or "fixed," and will fade under strong light.
Most oriental rug names do not show quality.—The name borne by an oriental rug ordinarily indicates the city or district of its origin, and throws little or no light on the excellence of the individual specimen. There is a widespread but totally erroneous idea that all rugs having the same name are alike in quality. The fact is that except for a few Turkish, Indian, and Chinese weaves, oriental rugs are not standardized, and that two Kerman rugs, for example, may differ as widely in quality as two Detroit automobiles. In buying oriental rugs, as in most other commodities, the consumer gets only that which he pays for.
Other things being equal, the cost of a rug per square foot increases directly with fineness of knotting. Other variable factors include the character of the wool and dyes; artistic and technical skill of designer and weaver; local conditions in the production district; and the interplay of supply and demand in the American wholesale market.
EUROPEAN HAND-KNOTTED PILE CARPETS
Carpet weaving was introduced to Europe by the Moors after their conquest of Granada, and established in Holland in the sixteenth century, and at Wilton and Axminster in England, and Paris in France, in the seventeenth century. Machine-spun yarns are now used in making these fabrics, but aside from this the processes are essentially the same as those employed in the Orient. Pile carpets are made in commercial quantities in Great Britain, Holland, Germany, France, and Spain and can be produced in any desired size, shape, pattern, coloring, or height of pile. Qualities vary widely in wool, knotting, and weavers' skill, and sell in the United States for anywhere from $20 to $200 or more per square yard. The time required for delivery varies from 3 to 12 months or more, depending upon size, character of design, and fineness of knotting.
Spanish rugs, like many of those made in China, are often embossed or chiseled, in order to add interest to the texture and to soften the relationship of strong juxtaposed colors.