Hi,
Can you please share your opinion on the quality and price of this rug?
http://www.mprugs.com/inventory/run/run101.htm
Generally speaking, is $2000/square meter good benchmark for your average Silk qum 600kpsi?

regards,

I agree, knot count is just one of many indicators, albeit a leading one. I for one go design first, then knot count, then material...
The problem I face is the huge variation in pricing... is Mohammadi a particularly known weaver in Qum? Are these signatures weaved or just printed?

Thanks for the insights. So when you say "different qualities" what aspects of quality would differentiate between the individual pieces if, lets say, the material (silk on silk) and knot count are the same?

thank you for sharing your insights. So at that level, and Silk Qum in general, how do you know you are not getting a Chinese copy, instead of original Persian?

First, the rug you posted is very nice and price is ok. $ 2000 squaremeter is ok for low or medium quality rugs. Today, you can go to Iran and find rugs in the Tehran Baazar selling very good quality qum rugs wholesale for above US$ 5000 / squaremeter.
There is quite a difference between the rugs sold as qum. Lower price "Qum" usually come from Zandjan or Bonab - it is a lot like Nain rugs made in Tabbas near Meshed.
Chinese rugs have increased in quality quite a lot. Still most production is at the lower level. Many rugs on ebay are chinese but sold as iranian qum. I have seen chinese rugs wth qum design made so perfect and with such great quality that I would say there is absolutely no problem buying them instead of a cheap "Qum" from Bonab or Zandjan. But their price is also close to $ 2000 per squaremeter.

There is no average price m² since most rugs are different. We sold low quality qum silk rugs 5 x 3 for $1500 / piece and top quality for more than $ 20.000 / piece. It is difficult to see the difference between qum and Zandjan / Bonab / Qum for someone who is not working with rugs every day. This is much more than what you learn online without looking at many (hundret) rugs of the same typ. I could not explain to you how to tell the difference between a real Picasso and a professional made reproduction - this is very much the same problem. One thing most Zandjan and Bonab have in common is a thin black nylon weft that is next to the white cotton weft. If you look at the knots, you can see these between the knots.
The rug Mike is selling is a real qum of good quality. So if you want to buy it, go for it. He is a correct dealer from what I have seen on his website.