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Locally bought rug, info required please
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timbo Offline
#1 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 9:21:01 AM(UTC)
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Hello, I was perusing your website and thought you might be able to enlighten me on a rug that I have just bought. Various pictures are included.
I am currently in Afghanistan and bought the rug from a local at the market. After much haggling I bought the rug for $300. The man said that it was handmade on a loom, and was silk. I have asked my local interpreters, and they seem to think it is factory made, and is part silk. They also think that they would purchase something similar for about $250, so I am quite happy with the price as obviously locals normally pay a lot less than visitors.
Also the chap said it was Iranian. It is 3m by 2m, and is in good condition (apart from a small dye stain on the back which is barely visible on the front). The knot count seems to be about 3-350 psi, and 1 to 2 ply (though if any of this matters on machine made I don't know?).
I am happy with the rug, I think it will make a nice feature when I get home, though I wonder if you could enlighten me any further or more accurately than what I’ve been told (factory made? silk? Iranian? value?).
I have a chance to go back and buy a genuine hand made rug this weekend, a similar size but in cream colours, i could possibly get this exchanged towards that, though I'll probably keep both.
Any further info would be most appreciated,
Thanks for your time,
Tim.
File Attachment(s):
P2100058.JPG (2,272kb) downloaded 15 time(s).
P2100065.JPG (2,214kb) downloaded 10 time(s).
P2100066.JPG (2,181kb) downloaded 8 time(s).
P2100071.JPG (2,376kb) downloaded 6 time(s).
P2100067.JPG (2,228kb) downloaded 5 time(s).
P2100072.JPG (2,194kb) downloaded 8 time(s).
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RugPro Offline
#2 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 9:41:05 AM(UTC)
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welcome to the forum. Do you have photographs of the reverse side of the rug like number 2 and number 3 seen here?
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timbo Offline
#3 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:30:20 AM(UTC)
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I've included a few more pictures including the back (on my first post above), they just take a while to upload due to the wireless connection here. Quick reply by the way, thank you.
Tim.
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RugPro Offline
#4 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:44:58 AM(UTC)
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I cannot tell the fiber, although the fringe appears to be wool. This appears to be 100% machine made carpet. I can tell by the way the weave is oriented - rather than knots running horizontally through the rug, the rows run vertically. Additionally, the selvages are precisely stitched on with machine stitching. If the pile is very soft and feels like silk, but the back is rough, it may be viscose
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timbo Offline
#5 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:50:44 AM(UTC)
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Thanks for the confirmation. Could you tell if this is Iranian? What style is it? Is it worth $300 being machine made? I'm pretty sure it is a silk fiber. Thanks for the reply, sorry to ask so many questions.
Cheers, Tim.
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RugPro Offline
#6 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:55:14 AM(UTC)
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If it is machine made, which I am fairly certain it is, the likelihood of this being true silk is practically zero. Again, if it is very soft, it's probably viscose or perhaps another art silk. Whether or not it's Iranian is somewhat irrelevant when it comes to machine mades in my experience. As for the value, this is heavily dependent on the fiber composition. You may want to clip a piece of the pile for a burn test to see what it may be. 300 seems like an okay deal for a rug of this size.
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timbo Offline
#7 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 10:59:41 AM(UTC)
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I'll try a burn test tomorrow or day after (it's 0130 here!), as soon as I get chance.
Thanks again for the quick replies,
Tim
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Guest
#8 Posted : Tuesday, February 10, 2009 2:46:53 PM(UTC)
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I do not get why I can't download these jpegs. STRIKE that, it is now working. TIM...PLS take the time to read all the dense with data & excellent visuals tutorials right here on this site!!!!

Knowledge is power.

Jill
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timbo Offline
#9 Posted : Thursday, February 12, 2009 2:53:33 AM(UTC)
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Have just done a burn test on several strands, the fiber melts very quickly on itself, it seems to look more like the real silk when the burn test is described in the article! Would this indicate a silk mix or another type of art silk?
Thanks, Tim
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netjim Offline
#10 Posted : Thursday, February 12, 2009 4:20:47 AM(UTC)
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Yep, machine made....if there is genuine silk in it I would say that increases the likelihood that is was made in Belgium. There are indeed some made there that have real silk in them (good example is Karastan's Persian Renaissance Collection )
Perhaps there have been machine mades in Iran for a while but it is only Very recently that I have even heard of machine made rugs from Iran.

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timbo Offline
#11 Posted : Thursday, February 12, 2009 8:41:26 AM(UTC)
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Ok, thanks for the info. It might well have come from Belgium, I'm sure that the bloke wasn't the most trustworthy, though I don't know why a rug from Belgium would be in Afghan? Would it still be worth $300? I'm going to the market on Saturday and am probably going to get my money back or exchange it towards hand made.
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netjim Offline
#12 Posted : Thursday, February 12, 2009 9:11:47 AM(UTC)
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For the size $300 is probably a fair price. I should also note that those Belgium looms are being sold around the world a good bit more often these days. (There is a thriving machine made industry in Saudi Arabia and some are being sent to India for a new factory) Such rugs can readily be found in Turkey and, of course, Egypt.....but seldom with silk - more often with an artificial silk highlight.
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timbo Offline
#13 Posted : Thursday, February 12, 2009 9:57:32 AM(UTC)
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Thanks for your time and information, it's been really helpful, I think I'll exchange it on Saturday for handmade, something a bit more special to take home.
Thanks again for your help, no doubt I'll post more photo's of my new rug next week.
Tim
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