The circumstances in which I find antique rugs are rarely ever the same.
A rug may appear in a private home, an old collection, a dealer’s warehouse, an auction preview, or in a photograph sent to me from across the world. Sometimes it is properly presented. More often, it is folded, poorly photographed, covered in dust, or buried beneath hundreds of ordinary pieces. But the mystery of where the next great rug will appear is what makes the hunt so rewarding.
For me, buying rugs has never been a mechanical process. It is not simply about age, condition, origin, or whether a rug checks the right boxes. It is emotional.
When I see the right rug, it has to speak to me. There must be something in the color, the drawing, the scale, the movement, or the character that makes me stop and look again. A great rug creates an emotional reaction before I have finished analyzing it.
That feeling begins the process, but it does not complete it.
The next question is always whether I can justify the price and ultimately offer the rug at a strong value to my clients.
The Search Started Before Sunrise
For many years, I would wake up at four o’clock in the morning and begin searching. Before most people had started their day, I was already reviewing auction listings, dealer inventories, private offerings, old collections, and photographs sent from different parts of the world. I searched anywhere an antique rug might appear.
Some mornings produced nothing. On other mornings, one photograph was enough to make me stop everything and investigate further. That possibility kept me searching. The excitement of finding something new, special, or completely different has always been one of my greatest motivations. Even after decades in the business, that feeling has never disappeared.
You never know when a rug will suddenly appear with a palette you have not seen before, an unusual drawing, a powerful border, or a character that cannot easily be repeated. The search may become part of your daily routine, but the discovery itself never becomes routine.
A Rug Has to Speak Back
People sometimes imagine that buying antique rugs means entering a room filled with masterpieces and simply selecting the most beautiful one. In reality, the process is far more instinctive and demanding.
Many rugs first come to me through photographs. The images may be poorly lit, taken from the wrong angle, or sent without enough detail. The colors may appear flat, and the proportions may be difficult to judge. Experience teaches you how to look beyond those limitations.
Sometimes a single detail makes me look twice. It may be the relationship between two colors, the looseness of a floral drawing, the scale of a medallion, the rhythm of a border, or the way the composition feels slightly unexpected. That small detail can reveal a great deal.
After handling rugs for more than 45 years, I have learned how to read what a photograph is telling me. I can often recognize the quality of the wool, the age, the drawing, the color balance, and the overall character without standing in front of the rug.
Many of the rugs I purchase are bought from photographs, and many of our clients also select rugs this way. For that reason, accuracy, experience, and trust are essential. I must be confident not only in what I am buying, but also in how the rug is photographed, described, and represented to the next person.
When I say that a rug speaks to me, I do not mean that I must physically stand in front of it. A rug can speak through a photograph. The right piece has a presence that comes through, even when the presentation is imperfect. Something in the drawing, the colors, or the overall personality creates an immediate connection and makes me want to understand it more deeply.
Most Rugs Are Not Right for the Collection
The reality is that most of the rugs I see are not right for the Nazmiyal Collection. Some are too young. Some have been overly restored. Others are attractive but ordinary. They may be perfectly good decorative rugs, but they lack the individuality or character I am searching for.
After handling tens of thousands of rugs, I have learned to distinguish between a good rug, an excellent rug, and an exceptional one. A good rug can be attractive and well made. An excellent rug may have beautiful wool, unusual colors, strong drawing, and refined craftsmanship. But an exceptional rug has something more. It has personality and feels alive.
That quality cannot always be explained through technical language. It is often something you recognize emotionally before fully understanding it intellectually.
Loving the Rug is Not Enough
Emotion is essential, but emotion alone can be dangerous. I may love a rug and still decide not to buy it. Over the years, I have passed on many important rugs because I could not justify the asking price. A rug may be beautiful, rare, and personally exciting, but if the price is beyond what the market will support, I must be prepared to walk away.
My responsibility is not only to find great rugs. It is to buy them at a level that allows me to offer great value to my clients. That judgment requires discipline.
Sometimes knowing what not to buy is just as important as knowing what to buy.
Understanding the Market
The asking price of a rug does not determine its true value.
A buyer must consider its quality, age, rarity, condition, decorative appeal, current demand, and how realistically it can be offered to the market. There are also many costs involved after the purchase, including cleaning, restoration, transportation, storage, insurance, research, photography, and marketing.
A rug can be wonderful and still be the wrong purchase if there is no reasonable room to handle it properly and offer it at good value. Understanding this balance requires years of practice and constant knowledge of the market.
I have walked away from many beautiful rugs because I could not justify the price. Some were excellent pieces that I would have been proud to own, but buying at any price is not a sign of expertise. Restraint is part of expertise.
A knowledgeable buyer must understand not only the rug, but also the marketplace around it.
Every Purchase Begins With the Client
Whenever I consider a rug, I think about the person who may eventually live with it. Will it feel special in their home? Does the quality justify the price? Will the rug continue to reward them after the first impression? Will they feel that they received something exceptional for what they paid? These questions are always part of my decision.
I do not want to buy a rug merely because I can. I want to buy it at a level that allows me to stand behind both its quality and its value. A client should never have to pay for my excitement or my ego.
My job is to combine emotion with judgment—recognize when a rug that speaks to me while remaining disciplined enough to understand what it should cost. The best purchases happen when beauty, quality, character, and value all come together.
The Hunt Has Changed
When I began more than 45 years ago, finding rugs required much more travel, many more telephone calls, and far less information.
Today, the world is connected. Photographs arrive instantly. Dealers, collectors, auction houses, families, and representatives can contact me from almost anywhere. Rugs that might once have remained hidden for years can now appear on my phone in a matter of seconds. After concentrating for so many years on fine antique and decorative rugs, the search has also become more focused.
The recognition of the Nazmiyal name has helped important rugs find their way to us. Every day, rugs are offered to me nationally and internationally. I also work with a small number of associates in different parts of the world who understand the types of pieces I am searching for. They know I am not simply looking for old rugs, but for rugs with character, quality, individuality, decorative appeal, and value.
This network makes the search more efficient, but it does not remove the judgment. Every rug must still be carefully considered and measured against everything I have learned during more than four decades in the business.
An Average of Two and a Half Rugs a Day
On average, I purchase approximately two and a half rugs each day. That number may sound high, but it represents only a small fraction of what is offered to me. For every rug I purchase, I review and decline many others. On average, I purchase approximately two and a half rugs each day, but that represents only a small fraction of what I am offered. For every rug I buy, I decline many others. Some lack the quality or individuality the collection requires; others simply cannot be acquired at a price that makes sense.
The number of opportunities has increased, but the standards have not changed. Every rug must earn its place.
Why Important Rugs Find Their Way to Us
Over time, collectors, families, designers, dealers, and representatives have come to understand what I am looking for. They know that I appreciate rugs not only as decorative objects, but also as works of art, pieces of history, and expressions of individual creativity. They also know that I will evaluate each piece seriously and honestly.
People often contact me when they are ready to sell an important rug or disperse a collection assembled over many years. Some rugs have remained in private homes for generations. Others have not appeared publicly for decades.
Trust plays an enormous role in these opportunities. Owners want to know that their rugs will be understood, properly cared for, accurately represented, and eventually placed with someone who appreciates them. I never take that confidence lightly.
The Excitement Has Never Disappeared
The rug business has changed greatly since I began, but the essential feeling remains the same. There is still the anticipation of receiving a new photograph and that first moment when one rug stands apart from everything else. There is still the question of whether it is simply good or truly exceptional. And there is still the satisfaction of discovering something special and knowing that you recognized it.
After more than 45 years, the hunt has not become less exciting. In many ways, it has become more meaningful. Experience has taught me how rare the finest rugs truly are, how important it is to buy with discipline, and how much responsibility comes with choosing pieces for clients who trust my judgment.
The hunt continues every day. Not simply for another rug, but for the right rug, one that speaks back, one that deserves a place in the Nazmiyal Collection, and one that can be offered to a client at a value I am proud to stand behind.
Explore the antique rugs currently selected for the Nazmiyal Collection, or contact us if you are considering selling an exceptional rug or private collection.
