The Best Oriental Rugs
The first thing to be considered when shopping for Oriental rugs is what, exactly, constitutes an Oriental Rug in the first place. The best Oriental rugs are real Oriental rugs, and real Oriental rugs must satisfy a specific set of requirements. First, Oriental rugs must be hand made. If a rug is machine-made, it is not an Oriental rug.
Keep in mind also that just because a rug is handmade, it’s still not necessarily a genuine Oriental rug. Handmade rugs in America, for instance, are made by the Native Americans and are called “Navajo rugs” or “American Indian rugs,” and use a different method in production than do Oriental rugs.
This brings up another one of the features of true Oriental rugs - the fact, obviously, that they are made in the Orient. In this case, the Orient is a fairly loosely defined term: generally, real Oriental rugs are made throughout northern Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Styles of rugs differ from place to place: you can generally research the differences before you begin shopping by getting online and comparing pictures.
Tufted rugs which are woven in India, China, as well as some other countries of Asia is a good alternative to the more costly Oriental rugs. They are also made by hand, the difference being that each knot is not knotted in the same manner as authentic Oriental rugs. This is reason for it they are less expensive. A tufted rug which is the same size as an Oriental rug would cost $700 compared to the $1500 you would have to pay for the original and it would also look very similar. But you have to remember that the value of the tufted rugs goes down very fast while the resale value of the Oriental rug is much higher and they even last longer.
A very important quality of the Oriental rugs is that they are woven by hand. No doubt there are some other kinds of rugs like the Tufted rugs which are made in parts of Asia that are also woven. You may not be able to see the difference initially but the way Oriental rug is woven is very different. Every individual knot is hand-tied and that makes the Oriental rug stand out. It is this characteristic which makes the rug very expensive as well as long lasting. The Tufted rug will wear off much faster and only about half as valuable compared to a true Oriental rug.
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