Handmade carpets and rugs have charmed and fascinated us for centuries. From the 2,400-year-old Pazyryk carpet that was discovered encased in ice in a cave in southern Siberia to the abundant supply of carpets today, the desire to own a handmade carpet is as strong now as it was way back when the Pazyryk carpet was made for a Scythian warrior prince.
Thankfully, these handmade treasures are no longer the exclusive property of the wealthy and privileged. A trip around Saudi Arabia reveals an abundance of carpet shops that are fully stocked with woven treasures.
The millions of carpet collectors worldwide agree on the fact that whenever confronted with woven textiles they are by nature drawn to them, like metal to magnets.
Therefore, this innate attraction for anything woven presents the carpet collector with one of life’s greatest challenges, i.e., being able to walk out of a carpet shop empty-handed. For all the carpet lovers amongst us, this feat is rarely achieved.
Moreover, on many occasions the uninitiated first time visitor to the carpet shops of Saudi Arabia is awe-struck and enamored when he sees the vast array of colorful hand-woven wool and silk carpets.
This first time visitor notices that the carpets may be neatly rolled up standing upright in rows like soldiers, folded into tidy squares and rectangles piled one on top of each other, or hanging gracefully from the walls.
The most seductive time for anyone to visit a carpet shop is during the evening. Under the illumination of artificial lighting, the carpets and related tribal textiles produce a kaleidoscope of colors that is both vibrant and exciting to the eye.
However, when the same textiles are exposed to natural light, the colors are a little muted. The evening time is the carpet merchant’s favorite time for business. Many carpets have been sold under the soft yellow glow of the alluring lights.
Whether someone chooses to purchase a carpet during the evening or during the daytime, a common question asked by many people is: How much will my carpet be worth in a few years time? The answer to this question is a vexed as well as a protracted one. Basically, a carpet should be purchased for the right reasons, the prime one being that you like it and that it is within your budget.
Other reasons to consider might be the provenance, weaving quality, design, colors, condition, size and the materials used, such as wool or silk. When all of these factors come together and you feel satisfied, you will indeed have a carpet that you will enjoy for the rest of your life. The fact that it could increase in value in the long-term is a bonus.
Buying a carpet for the wrong reason might happen when a person buys in the hope of making a quick profit. This method involves many risks. Precise knowledge is required about carpets and the market conditions. This kind of speculation is not for the easily disappointed.
For example, a common myth that prevails worldwide is that the finer and more expensive the carpet, the higher the return when they sell it in the short-term. Many people have been disappointed when, for example, they have purchased an extra fine silk Qum for anything between SR10,000 and SR20,000 and a year or so later have it appraised by one of the major auction houses in the West. They are advised that they will get back only more or less what they paid for it. Furthermore, submitting the same carpet to a local, lesser-known auction house will reduce their returns even more.
In essence, late 20th century fine silk or wool city workshop carpets are very long-term investments.
On the other hand, if we look at some old tribal carpets 80 years old or more from Afghanistan, Russia and Iran, we discover that they have low knot densities, and thus lack the fineness and precision of city workshop carpets. These carpets excel in other areas, such as having hand-spun wool, hand-dyed wool and spontaneity in the woven design due to the weaver in most cases weaving from memory. Weaving from memory allows the tribal weaver to deviate from formal tribal designs. This deviation adds flair and individuality to the carpet design. Furthermore, if skillful color coordination has also been achieved, this will ultimately bestow upon the work a high degree of aesthetic value that is highly sought after by collectors. In comparison, many contemporary tribal type carpets that are woven today are only a shadow of the tribal predecessors in which they choose to imitate.
Interestingly, the city workshop weaver from Iran and Turkey has to follow precisely the weaving instruction details from a cartoon or drawing, with no variation allowed. The color cartoon graphically displays to the weaver the design to follow and what color to use for each knot that is tied. Due to this precise, sanitized, and constrained artistic approach in city carpet production, the carpet — while beautiful, colorful and finely woven — lacks the charm and warmth that is often seen in the not-too-complicated tribal carpet. Walk into any home that has tribal carpets on the floor and sense the informality, warmth and relaxed atmosphere that these carpets radiate or comparatively walk into a room displaying classic curvilinear Iranian or Turkish carpets and the mood is that of opulence and formality.
Whether a person chooses to display geometric tribal carpets or classic curvilinear carpets, or even a mixture of both, one thing is for certain: The stability of the colors in any given carpet is often overlooked or not even considered by the purchaser of the carpet. If the colors have not been correctly fixed, it can seriously devalue the carpet. The wool must be treated with a metallic salt called a mordant for the dye to attach itself to the wool fiber. The mordant can either be iron, aluminum, or copper. If mordants are used incorrectly, serious problems will occur, such as a color bleeding into other areas of the carpet caused by spilt fluids. Incorrect use of mordants could also lead to drastic color change or complete loss of the original color. A simple test to check if the colors in a carpet are fixed properly is to place a little saliva on a clean white handkerchief and rub it into a color. If the color is fixed, the white handkerchief will remain white, or become very lightly stained. However, if the handkerchief is heavily stained like a paint smudge, then you may have a problem. If this happens, ask the carpet dealer to wash the carpet as there will be an occasional thin layer of dye residue on the surface of the carpet. After the carpet has been washed, try the handkerchief test again.
Ninety-percent of carpets that are seen in Saudi Arabia are those from the 20th century that are dyed with synthetic chromatic dyes. Many of these carpets originate from Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kashmir, Turkestan and Pakistan.
However, some older woolen tribal carpets from the 18th and early 19th centuries from Iran, Afghanistan and Russia tend to display natural dyes, although, every so often these carpets will display both natural and synthetic dyes. The preference for cheaper, easier to use synthetic dyes is slowly becoming less and less. Some carpet producers are now being encouraged to return to using natural dyes. This is the case in a few selected rural areas in Turkey and Afghanistan, where some carpets today are entirely woven with naturally dyed wool. The current difference in price between a naturally dyed carpet and a synthetically dyed carpet is negligible. But if the present trend for naturally dyed carpets continues to gain momentum, whereby they become the preferred choice of the collector, then dealers may be left with no choice but to place naturally dyed carpets at a higher price level than that of their synthetically dyed contemporaries. This will inevitably reopen the contentious, age-old debate about the virtues of natural dyes over synthetic dyes.
All in all, woven carpets and their facets of intrigue have always captivated the human race and they will continue to do so. They are one of the few artistic products that are instantly appreciated by a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds. In a sense, carpet lovers are not restricted to social barriers as people who are fascinated with them are brought together with having a common interest at heart. Carpets also reveal characteristics about the owner such as his/her tastes, character, emotions and personality. Study your carpets carefully and see how much of you is represented in the designs and colors.
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