Oriental rugs are loved around the world for their beauty and high level of craftsmanship. It is known that people in the Middle East and parts of Asia were making rugs and carpets at least as far back as 2,000 B.C, and maybe as far back as 4,000 B.C. The techniques and material that they used to weave the pile seem to have been very similar to what Oriental rug weavers use today.

Few ancient and handmade products survived the industrial revolution as well as Oriental rugs and carpets did. It is an extraordinary attestation to the beauty and quality of these rugs that traditional techniques and craftsmanship have remained highly competitive.

Historical evidence suggests that rugs and carpets were imported from the East and distributed throughout Europe as far back as the 11th century. For example, old European paintings have been found to have Oriental rugs depicted in them. For a very long time, however, this luxury was reserved for royalty and very wealthy people. Very few other households were using Oriental rugs, or any rug whatsoever, before the 18th century.

In the 18th and 19th centuries many countries in Europe were making their own handmade rugs and carpets, and the import of Eastern rugs and carpets was still reserved for the wealthy. With the 20th century, however, came modern means of transportation and shipping. The export of rugs and carpets from the Orient to the West now became fairly inexpensive and Western countries could no longer compete with the high quality and low labor cost of Eastern rugs and carpets. The only way for Western countries to be successful in their local market was by increasing the narrowing price gap. Knowing they could not match the Oriental rug and carpet manufacturers in terms of quality, they focused on their strengths, which meant having machines, not people, make rugs in great numbers. Following World War II both Europe and North America saw significant development of the machine-made rug industry. As a result, handmade rugs and carpets produced in Europe or North America are extremely rare today.

With all the technological sophistication and financial resources available to Western countries, it is still the rug artisans of the Middle-East with their ancient weaving techniques and simple tools that reign supreme in the rug and carpet industry of today.

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Since times past, the Oriental rug has thought to be very important and should be handled with utmost care. These rugs are more durable than what most think and in the Middle East, people even throw rugs onto the street, so they may be walked on by camels. If you are thinking about the maintenance, worry not, as dirty rugs can be laundered easily. Oriental rug cleaning should be done on a regular basis and make sure you do not try things on your own as this may cause damage.

Oriental rugs have the tendency to wear out where they are often walked on. Of course, this cannot be avoided; however you can do something about it by altering the placement of your rug. Also keep in mind that if you keep walking on a dirty rug, sooner or later, it will give up on you. Dirt and sand are like sandpapers that grind into rugs, so for this reason alone, it’s important to have Oriental rug cleaning regularly.

It’s vital that you have your rug cleaned so that it can retain its worth, aesthetics, and quality. You may either clean it yourself or have a professional rug cleaning service provider do the task for you. The frequency in which you should have your rug cleaned depends on how dirty it is and how often it’s used. When you rub your hand forcefully on the rug for a couple seconds and find even the smallest dirt particle on it, then it’s time to have it cleaned. In order to keep your rug looking neat, here are key points to consider when Oriental rug cleaning.

1. Vacuum the rug, then hang it up and beat the dust as well as dirt which may still remain.

2. Place your rug on a flat surface, such as your garage floor, driveway or your deck.

3. Use cool water to wet the rug and test a small area with a mild rug shampoo, to make sure the color does not run. If not, you can continue to clean the entire rug with a long soft bristle brush.

4. Gently brush the shampoo into the grain of your rug. Ensure that you completely wet and lather shampoo with water mixture.

5. Clean your rug and its fringes by using your shampoo and water mixture. Gently brush it away from the rug and repeat until it’s thoroughly clean.

6. Rinse out the rug with running water. Get rid of standing water by using a rubber squeegee along the grain.

7. Finish the cleansing process by laying your rug out, flat to dry.

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Oriental rugs are pretty expensive, but they are a great way to enhance your rooms? appearance. There are mainly two types of Oriental rugs, they are new rugs and antique rugs. Antique rugs are more expensive. Oriental rug prices vary according to their size, design, fiber used, number of knots per square inch and the place of origin. The prices of oriental rugs start from around $200 and can go beyond $3000 depending on the demand and quality.

Oriental rugs which are hand woven from fibers that are treated with vegetable dyes are the most expensive type of rugs in the world. The prices of oriental rugs are directly proportional to the area of the rug. The common sizes available are large rugs, medium rugs, small rugs and runners. Many Oriental rug vendors have fixed prices, while some allow you to bargain.

The price also depends on the idea or originality of the motif, symmetry of the patterns, harmony of color combinations, quality of used dyes, quality of wool and silk, symmetry of weave or the individual knots, ending of the weave, arrangement of fringes and marketing. Usually Persian rugs, due to their high quality, are more expensive, Indian, Nepali and Tibetan rugs are cheaper.

Oriental rug purchased online is cheaper than those purchased from the retail market. This is because most of the sites offering oriental rugs are wholesalers or importers. These companies do not spend much on advertising and marketing. Oriental rugs produced using synthetic fibers by machine weave are cheap and their price starts from about $50.

There are sites on the Internet which provide information about prices of Oriental rugs, they give price comparisons, ratings and reviews. Most companies online offer discounts up to 30%.

If well maintained, the value of Oriental rugs increase with time, many antique oriental rugs have been auctioned for several thousands of dollars. But dirt, stains, unnatural coloration, and rodent attacks decrease the value of rugs.

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Rug making is one of the oldest crafts in the world. The oldest known carpet has been dated at the 5th century BC, but the art of carpet weaving has been traced back as far as 7000 BC. There have been numerous references to weaving and rugs in the Bible and other historical documents. Although Egypt is likely the first area in the world in which rugs were made, the art as we know it really flourished in Central Asia.

The first woven rugs that we are familiar with were probably rugs similar to the kilims, which are flat woven rugs. Following this were the rugs we know as pile rugs. They originated with the nomadic tribes of the region, people who realised the value of their sheep’s wool. The rugs that were made were used to keep the home warm and also to decorate the home. The rugs were put on the floors, walls, doors, and windows. They were also used as a way to judge the worth of a wife as the women were the weavers in the tribes and their skills were highly prized.

Because rug weaving was first practiced by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, their skills were displayed in many areas. This resulted in rug weaving skills being adopted by many different regions. Anatolia in Turkey is one of the oldest known areas of modern rug weaving. The Turkish tribes moved into the area from Central Asia, bringing with them their rug weaving skills.

The Selcuk Turks of the 13th and 14th centuries were the first known Turkish weavers and their rugs tended to have floral patterns and geometrical motifs. Next came the Ottoman Turks, which began weaving in the 14th century, and during the transition animal figures began to appear on the rugs. By the 15th century animal figures were very common on rugs and by the 16th century designs with twisting branches, leaves, and flowers such as tulips, carnations, and hyacinths were commonplace. These types of designs are still used in Turkish rugs today.

In the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries rug weaving traditions and skills began to move away from the Anatolian region of Turkey and many places took up the art of weaving, including Usak and Bergama. By the 19th and 20th centuries Hereke, which is near Istanbul, had become a prosperous rug making region. Hereke is known for producing the finest silk rugs in the world.

Rugs can be identified by region based on the materials and the designs and motifs used. For example, rugs woven by the nomads of Anatolia are woven wool on wool whereas the rugs woven in villages and towns were woven wool on cotton. These days the art of rug making in Turkey is alive and well. Many regions follow the traditions of their ancestors, except that rugs today are mostly made for export rather than strictly home use. With the popularity of Turkish rugs, the art and tradition of carpet weaving will be alive and well for many centuries to come.

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