Behnam Rugs is home to the finest handmade rug collection in all of Dallas / Fort Worth. We offer one-of-a-kind rugs from around the world. Some of the best rugs are known as Persian rugs or Persian carpets. These fine handmade rugs are oftentimes highly-priced. Oriental Silk Rugs are made with Natural Silk fibers that come from the silkworm, and these rugs are priceless.
Natural Silk Rugs vs Viscose Rugs
In order to recognize a natural silk rug from a viscose silk rug, one must perform the “Silk Fiber Test” or the “Rug Burn Test”. When you burn a small fiber from a silk rug, the burning strand will smell like burning hair. Also when you remove the flame, the natural fiber will stop burning. The ashes are similar to burned paper ashes: light and powdery.
If you burn a fiber from a viscose rayon rug, the smell is that of a burned wire, the residue is waxy and smears. After you remove the flame, the fiber will burn on.
If you are not sure what kind of rug you own, just bring your valued Oriental Rug in for a written appraisal. Our experts will examine and explain some history behind your valued rug.
Persian Silk Rugs
Persian silk rugs are the most intricate, and often most valuable, of all hand-knotted rugs. Persian silk rugs come in most breathtaking patterns and designs, and the fibers are naturally dyed and don’t color run while hand-washing. Whereas synthetically dyed rugs may have issues while washing and grooming. The natural silk rugs are fine, yet made of strong fibers that allow more knots per square inch to be tied, giving a clearer pattern with more detail, a good analogy being that of an HDTV over a regular TV.
The most valuable silk rugs are 100% silk from the warp and weft to the pile. Because of their silk foundation, there can be more warp strings (visible as tassels or fringes at the ends of the rug) across with width – meaning more knots can be tied in a given area. The more expensive materials coupled with finer knot counts means silk hand-knotted rugs are made by more skilled artisans.