Evening all
We are thinking of buying a Persian rug for the lounge once the building work and floor tiles are down.
Any pointers (good and bad) and suggested sellers of decent quality/price rugs?
TIA
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Could try Isfahan Carpets-Broxburn in ScotlandOriginally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK
Online too.
Bought from her when she was in Jenners in Edinburgh
She goes to Iran every year to source the rugs.
Knows everything there is to know and is a little strange but sells good stuff
A real enthusiast.
A good quality one doesn't come cheap though.
Not that London prices either.
Noting that you’re a man of Yorkshire Chris...
Mrs Draft is from West Yorkshire and despite my regularly dragging her to more exotic places (like SE London) she has hung onto her family house near Bingley, so we stay there for a few days every few weeks.
A couple of years ago we headed to the fish & chip shop in Bingers for a lazy supper. Being the good step-parent I asked Mrs Draft’s daughter if she wanted anything. “Chocolate” was the answer. So I went into the sweet shop a couple of doors away from the chip shop. Noticed a side room piled high with some rather attractive handmade kilims of all colours and sizes, got chatting to the (Afghan) shopkeeper, and walked out £250 lighter with a gorgeous rug under one arm and stepdaughter’s chocolate in the other hand.
I daresay there will be similar Afghan shopkeepers around the north. Possibly fewer in Harrogate though.
You need to do a lot of research if you want a decent rug. I have 4 rugs, two are just ok, one is good and the silk one hanging on the wall is the only one I would call decent.
Most rugs for sale in the UK are not that good. Most Europeans do not appreciate good quality rugs and would not know a good one from a bad one. Different countries use different wools and that along with the density of knots determines the quality. You also need to know the difference between natural and artificial dyes. The polite term that rug makers use is that rugs for sale in the UK are "suited to the European market". In other words - tat that would not sell in their own country.
If you want just to buy something to chuck on the floor, there are loads of warehouses selling via ebay. They are actually pretty good for the money but they are nearly all medium knots and artificial dyes. Never the less they will look better and will last long than any machine made one. Also if you contact them, they will source you a good one but you will pay heavily for it.
If you want the real thing, crazy as it sounds, get over to a warehouse in the far east and buy one there and have it shipped back home. I did this for my silk one, I bought a Keyseri silk rug in a trade warehouse in Turkey for just £500 and I have seem similar on sale in the UK for over £2000.00. Think of it as a holiday where you buy a rug on the side. It will pay for the holiday. You and you wife / partner both need to see what you are buying and my missus must have changed her mind over 20 times before settling on the one we finally bought.
The best value rugs tend to be Turkish where they use a unique knot that wears better and they often copy other countries patterns. So if you are not careful, you will buy a Persian "style" rug made in Turkey. However a Turkish rug with a Turkish pattern is a good bye and one I would suggest you go for as they are less flamboyant than some other countries.
I have a rug which I have received as a gift from the Shah of Persia. Mick, you want to come around and do an appraisal for me?
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
Nope
Why would your local takeaway give you a carpet?
I've been a customer for years and it's actually only the size of a door mat.
Someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too.
If it's the Shah of Persia that I'm thinking of, you really should get that rug seriously cleaned: I left an awful mess on it a while ago.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
When has Turkey been in the Far East or have you been on one or two of them casks of plonk you harbour Mick ?
I've got a new nice ones if anyone's interested in seeing some pictures?
I've not actually bought one for a while. I used to travel to the UAE quite a lot and the old souq in Sharjah was a great place to buy and compare different rugs. I've got a couple that I bought in Iran, years ago. I second the idea of taking a holiday and picking up a rug!
If you find the right one you can save a fortune on airfare.
Fas est ab hoste doceri
Thanks (seriously).
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I third the taking a holiday. We went on holiday to India last year and came back with a superb rug. Hand made in a small collective, (we saw them making them), at an exceptionally good price.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
I know a famous family of tibetan carpet weavers in northern india. I used to buy one or two off them each year. A 6x4 foot hand knotted rug only weighs about six kilos. I used to carry them back.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
We need one around the 6x10 foot size - bit more difficult to bring back from a holiday?
- - - Updated - - -
Yes please Walter!
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Take an empty case or hold-all (packed inside a larger case) on the way out if your baggage allowance permits. We usually pack emergency luggage when travelling, you never know!
Don't just do something, sit there. - TNH
My wife inherited a carpet from her Gran. It's Persian apparently and very old. I haven't decided if I like it or it looks shagged. Either way it's not going anywhere!
I bought a wool/silk "vintage" rug (about 50 years+) a few years ago off eBay. We still have it and it looks great. Since then we (and my family) have bought a few more.
Currently we have 5 rugs. The only new one is another wool/silk I purchased in India, which was very expensive compared with the old rugs off eBay.
Worth a look.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Just as a follow up.....
We have a couple on our radar and will sort this out in the next few days.
Being a 'man of Yorkshire' I must affirm that we do not hang rugs on the wall around these parts - similarly, dinner is the food one consumes at midday, tea (whilst being a drink) is the evening meal.......Lol!
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Who would've thought that there are some many rugheads on the forum.
Last edited by VDG; 23rd October 2017 at 00:11.
Fas est ab hoste doceri
Don’t laugh but Ikea sell some decent (IMO) rugs.
Machine made rugs are akin to a quartz watch, nothing wrong with it but a handmade rug is just that bit sexier, just like a mechanical watch. Logic does not come into it.
Bought off the market from a nice Indian man........
Probably not the sort of thing you're talking about...........I'll get me coat (the mad Spaniel loves it though)
Where is the spaniel?
Fas est ab hoste doceri
What, you can't see it?
Ha ha just noticed it, great cammo ;)
Fas est ab hoste doceri
Well, finally got home with some light in the sky, and grabbed a few pics of some of my rugs. I've more back in the UK - these are mainly workaday things, but some are quite nice. Most are wool-on-wool, and some are a bit old. (Please don't judge my furnitire - most of it came with the house!)
This is an old carpet bag on top of a quite funky animal pattern rug. I've got a couple of these carpet bags - they're crafts, rather than art, but I like them.
The animal one is quite nice - a good deep pile and slightly derpy animals.
This is one end of an Afghan war rug that was a gift 15 years ago. Interesting colours and design! Again, pretty good pile, if not the highest knot count.
I bought this one in Iran, I think - you don't often see many with this much indigo.
This is an old (25 year old?) silk on cotton kilm that we keep in the kid's room. Love these.
Another kilm, a runner, that lives on my landing. Quite worn - these things are for using! ("Seven generations on the floor, seven generations on the wall.")
Lastly, another Iranian purchase, a slightly wonky Tree of Life.
Those are the main ones I've got here! A couple more in storage, the rest of them are in the UK. Hope you like them!
He took the picture, never underestimate a gundog!
I love Persian rugs and found some beauties at Geneva Saturday morning market.
Getting them back to UK was a bit of a struggle since they weren't flying carpets !
Not too expensive either. The Swiss don't like 'old' !
Brendan
I was in Zurich on Saturday & stumbled upon a similar market, unfortunately no hidden gems in the watch department but certainly amazed at the quality & quantity of items on offer.
To my untrained eye everything looked genuine which is a novelty
I've never found any second hand watch bargains at Swiss markets. Plenty of watch repairers tools and household items, paintings, carpets, furniture, even clocks, but watch sellers want stupid prices. I guess they exported most of their production so such stuff is rare in CH.
Brendan
A couple of stalls selling rugs but without room dimensions it seemed pointless to even ask prices.
I've got a rather large painting on the stairwell due to previous guesswork & not wishing to make the same mistake twice.
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