Posted on November 17, 2015 by Behnam Rugs

5 Things to look for in a Persian Rug

You’ve decided to purchase a beautiful, hand-knotted Persian or Oriental rug. (We applaud your good taste. Truly.)

So you fire up your laptop, begin searching in your favorite browser, find a rug that certainly looks real, it looks beautiful…you’ll take it! Enter your credit card information and, voila! You’re the owner of a rug.

Whether it’s a genuine hand-knotted Persian/Oriental rug is another matter, however.

We see it all the time: eager rug buyers who think that any “Persian” or “Oriental” rug shown online is a genuine hand-knotted rug.

A detail of Persian animal carpet.

So, to help make sure you actually get a real, hand-made rug, we’ve put together a list of the first five things you should do as you search.

1. Study, study and study some more of the history of Persian and Oriental rugs.

Doing so will help you understand how they are crafted, why they have the designs and colors that they do and it will help you choose from which region, or which type, of rug you want to purchase (a Shiraz carpet or a Tabriz, for example). This research will give you a better idea of what type of rug is right for you. 

2. Decide on your rug budget.

You’ll see many incredibly beautiful rugs once you start searching in person (more on this next), so it’s important that you decide on how much you will pay for a rug and swear to yourself that you will stand firm on that price.

3. Head out to at least two or three Dallas Persian and Oriental rug dealers and start asking to look at some hand-made rugs.

Don’t be shy about this: any legitimate rug dealer will be happy to show you around. In fact, the dealer probably will insist on doing so because rug dealers are so proud of their wares that they’d educate everyone if they could on the rugs’ history, their craftsmanship, and their beauty.

Ask the dealer to show and explain to you the difference between a hand-knotted, a hand-tufted, and a machine-made rug. In a nutshell, a hand-knotted rug is one which the artist knots every single piece of thread in the rug by hand. A hand-tufted rug is one in which a skilled worker (notice we didn’t say artist) uses a hand tool to place the strands in what will become the rug’s backing while following a pattern that’s been printed upon it. Finally, a machine-made rug is just that – a machine places the threads through the rug’s, following a printed pattern on the backing.

4. As you visit dealers and learn, see which rug patterns and colors speak to you.

You’ll undoubtedly find that certain patterns and colors attract you more than others. Pay attention to this and narrow your search to these colors/patterns.

5. Choose the rug that truly touches your soul (so long as it’s in your budget) and then ask if you can take the rug home for a few days.

Rug dealers such as Behnam Rugs are always happy to let you take the rug home to see if it works well in your home. You may have to place a down payment or pay a fee, of course. You also have to make sure you return the rug in the same condition should you decide the rug’s not for you.

If you’d like to learn more about fine handmade rugs by visiting our Dallas showroom, give us a call at 972-733-4000.

“Hamburg MKG Safavid carpet detail hunting” by Safavid court manufacture, Persia, 16th century – Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, Germany. Licensed under Public Domain via Commons –