Antique Rugs
What is an antique rug?
Antique rugs are rugs that are at least 100 years old. In addition, the rugs should be well preserved in the pile and warp according to the age. Antique rugs often contain patterns or colors that are no longer knotted today. Often they transmit cultural values and visually capture the historical spirit of the times. Through the antique rugs access to the Central Asian history is possible and contributes to a comprehensive understanding. The rug art of Central Asia is comparable to European painting.
Regions of origin of antique rugs
Antique rugs were knotted in different cultural regions and therefore differ from each other sometimes very clearly. We have summarized the most important regions below:
Persia/Iran: From Persia, there are many provenances and cities where rugs have been hand-knotted for centuries and sometimes even millennia. Especially well known today are the American Sarough rugs, palace rugs from Kirman, as well as from other cities such as Tabriz, Isfahan and Tehran.
South Russia/Caucasus: In South Russia, the art of rug weaving was originally developed several thousand years ago. Particularly famous is the Pasyryk rug, discovered in 1947, which is almost 2500 years old. The variety of rugs from this region is overwhelming and small differences in pattern, color or knotting can be distinguished and classified only by absolute experts. In general, the rugs from the area of southern Russia and the Caucasus are decorated with geometric and sometimes very fine and color-intensive patterns. Known today are mostly antique rugs from Bukhara, the Kauskasus Mountains and from the Turkmen of Central Asia. Besides the rugs, there are also hand-woven antique kilims, which themselves are over 100 years old.
Anatolia/Turkey: As a link between the Orient and the Occident, Turkey used to be the most important trading center for hand-knotted rugs. Near the city of Istanbul, especially the city of Hereke has made a name for itself worldwide, as the finest and highest quality silk rugs in the world are knotted here. Old and antique rugs from Hereke are priceless and absolute rarities. Also antique Kaiseri rugs and old Anatolian kilims are traded expensively today.
Afghanistan: Afghanistan has a very old knotting tradition, which was not originally intended for trade. Antique Afghan rugs and kilims are very rare and highly sought after by collectors. Especially the antique Afghan silk rug is something very special and hard to find.
China and Tibet: Antique rugs from Tibet and China are knotted from excellent silk and wool. Especially the antique rugs from Beijing and Tianjin are mostly relatively plain and decorated with few classical patterns.
India: Rug weaving came to India with the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. The best Persian weavers were hired to make large palace rugs in the city of Agra. These antique Agra rugs are very rare today and worth a fortune.
Antique rugs as an investment
Proper antique rugs can be a good investment, because well-preserved rugs from the beginning of the 20th century are becoming increasingly rare. For this, however, one should have a great knowledge of antique rugs. Otherwise, it should take the advice of an expert when buying an antique rug to help.
Buy an antique rug at Rugway
We offer you a wide selection from a wide range of antique rugs. We are also happy to assist you with our expertise. If you have a request for an antique rug that we do not currently carry, please feel free to contact us. With our network we can certainly find a suitable rug for you. When buying an antique rug you can also make use of our 30-day return policy. We also offer free shipping and returns.
