Antique carpets can be either collector's items or decorate your home or office.
Either way they are a worthwhile investment and will always look good wherever you may place them.
As decoration they will always add a touch of class, tradition and taste.
You can safely say they will always be beautiful and you will never find two that are exactly the same (they are handwoven and this means that the exact weaving will not be repeated - they could be very similar but never exact).
Up until the 18th century most of the carpets in the West were imported from the Orient, with all the romantic trappings that went with it.
They were a highly luxurious item unavailable to the majority.
Obviously this meant that only the nobility and extreme rich merchants could afford them and so they became a status symbol.
On this day in age an antique carpet has a very similar role, expressing the very same status symbol although our quality of life has changed considerably and so they are more easily obtained.
For those in the know they are very prized items and so are found in offices belonging to businesses whose image is of vital importance (banks and financial institutions for example), as well as in homes where they are appreciated.
Hand woven carpets have certain traditions, one of which is that a particular tribe, village or town will weave a specific design.
Sizes may vary but the design will be the same.
The yarn, normally wool or silk, will be dyed under age old color that come from natural sources specific to a particular recipe from that original area.
This goes to show a couple of things.
The first is that dyes will vary so a chemical examination, for the expert at least, will indicate the origin.
The second is that identification based on the design will also show where it was made.
There are a machine woven carpets that imitated antique designs but they are usually easily recognize.
First of all the design, the pattern and the weaving are too perfect and precise.
You also find a wide variety of different yarns that would go from the more expensive to the least expensive - natural yarns such as silk and wool; synthetic fibers like nylon and olefin.
As for designs will be imitations of antique carpets as well as a wide variety of new designs, both modern and classic.
These antique carpets and rugs come from the Orient and Middle East - namely China, Persia (Iran), India, Afghanistan and Turkey.
The quality of antique carpet, of a woven carpet, is the result of the yarn, the design, the weaving, the age of the carpet and how well it has stood up to time.
One of the most important aspects is the weaving, and the first thing to look at is the number of knots - the higher the number, the tighter the weave, the better the carpet.
Antique carpets are sold worldwide and therefore available to both the collector, the investor and the decorator.
For anyone looking to purchase antique carpet the best recommendation is to look for advise and guidance from an expert.
The different aspects that make up the price of an antique carpet to require more profound knowledge, and perhaps more importantly, experience.