Collector's Guide to Persian Carpets and Antique Rugs

Rug collectors obsess endlessly over color and the dyes used to achieve them in rug weaving. The introduction of synthetic dyes between about 1860 and 1880 marks a kind of cut-off point between what is generally collectible and what is not. Even small amounts of synthetic dye will put some collectors off from buying a rug for fear of the reaction the piece will provoke among fellow aficionados. Within the rug-collecting culture, this ethos may be too rigid, but it is nonetheless hard to avoid. It is therefore necessary to learn to recognize synthetic color from vegetable dyes.
The more positive side of an interest in color has to do with appreciating the quality of vegetable dye in absolute aesthetic terms. Color has two main aspects – intensity or saturation, and transparency or depth. Intense vibrant color is difficult to achieve with natural dyes, and it is therefore prized. Even more difficult and sought after is the transparent luminous quality of the color, which also depends to some extent on the wool quality. The number of colors in a rug is also a criterion of quality, and whenever a rug with good dyes is exceptionally colorful, it becomes all the more desirable to collectors.