What Determines the Value or Cost of a Rug?

On the most basic level, cost or value is determined by market demand. The price of a rug will depend on how much buyers are willing to compete to acquire it. This in turn depends on the size, rarity, quality of wool, weave, and color, condition, and age, and especially on the convergence of these factors in a piece. The older the rug, the better its weave and materials, the rarer it is, the more it is worth, particularly when it is in good condition. Larger rugs generally cost more than small ones. To a certain extent these are intrinsic factors that do not reflect changes in taste. But the market is also driven by trends which are stimulated and maintained by designers. At any given time certain types of rug will be more popular than others, and this sort of demand will create a higher price base.