Antique carpets can be an owner’s pride. But it’s wise to get some sound tips before investing in them.
A New York-based carpet dealer once told me this story. Apparently, in the seventies, a couple of scruffy beatniks walked into an antique rug store, enquiring about an exquisite rug on display. The snotty dealer decided they weren’t the buying types and not-very-politely shooed them off. Later, he discovered that they were John Lennon and Yoko Ono! While this anecdote goes to show that even the savviest dealers can err in recognising potential buyers, usually it’s the other way round. The world of antique carpets is known as much for beautiful pieces of history as it is for murky provenances and dodgy itinerant carpet-walas.
So, when one’s scouting around for antique carpets, how does one even tell old from new? Are they a good investment at all? They are much more than that, says Dhruv Chandra of the Delhi-based Carpet Cellar. Well-maintained antique rugs have good resale potential, says Chandra whose family owns a vast collection of antique rugs from across the world. “We sold a magnificent Mohtasham Kashan rug from the Shah of Iran’s collection about five years ago,” he reminisces, “Today it’s appreciated by over 300 per cent!”
While earlier, antique carpets were mostly bought by industrialists and rich businessmen, today they’re a growing décor trend amongst young professionals. At the Mumbai-based Jamal Mir’s (www.jamalmir.com), fine antique rugs cost anything between Rs 1 lakh and 20 lakh. However, not all antique rugs are that expensive. Depending upon the size, complexity and provenance, antique tribal rugs at the Carpet Cellar could cost upwards of Rs 15,000. True lovers of all things old, however, would rarely able to measure the value of antique rugs in monetary terms alone.
“Antique carpets are works of art — meticulously detailed and usually finer than modern rugs,” Chandra says. In the olden days, rugs were either commissioned by wealthy nobles or woven for personal use. “So weavers of yore didn’t compromise on the raw materials they used, or on the complexity of designs they wove. In comparison, modern rugs are made in bulk for commercial rather than aesthetic reasons,” he explains.
“Antique rugs have a unique patina that comes from age and the fact that most were made using only natural dyes,” says Anu Gupta, Delhi-based carpet designer, “In fact, new carpets with their crisper colours look almost brash beside the muted shades of an antique.” They create, she believes, an atmosphere of lived in luxury and at the same time, make great conversation pieces too. “Old rugs are often redolent with stories — about their origins, who commissioned them and where they were woven. This makes them a delight to own,” agrees Chandra.
As with other collectibles, the key to successful rug buying lies in learning as much as possible about them. Chandra advises, “Go to carpet exhibitions, see them in museums, read books about them and subscribe to carpet blogs — before you actually buy one. That’s the best way to find an antique rug you’d love to live with.”
What are antique carpets?
Technically, carpets older than a hundred years are called antiques. Designwise, they fall in two basic genres — European (notably Aubusson or tapestry and Savonnerie or pile carpets); and Oriental (Tabriz, Kerman, Kashan, Serapi, Heriz, Sultanabad, Agra). Each design has a story to tell. For example, only the French king could own a Savonnerie carpet in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, leading to the development of the Aubusson, a flat-woven imitation of the royal rugs. Oriental rugs originated in the mountainous regions of the East stretching from Turkey through Persia and Central Asia into China, where they were used to keep the cold out.
Buying one
- Antique rugs are rarely straight; often uneven in pile –— their beauty lies in these imperfections. However, check that the edges and borders of the carpet are intact.
- Be prepared for minor damage (holes less than 5 inches) which the dealer can repair before you buy it.
- Choose a good dealer who gives proper certification for your antique. Ask if the dealer has a buy-back clause. Avoid buying from itinerant carpet sellers.
- If buying for investment purposes, see how ‘available’ that particular type of carpet is in the market. If there are many pieces of that type in the market, the resale value could be low. In contrast, carpets from rarer collections, even if they’re of later provenance, could have higher resale value.
Spotting a fake
- If the ‘old’ rug you’re seeing has bright fluorescent shades, chances are that it’s not old enough. Fluorescent chemical dyes came into use relatively recently. Authentic antique rugs have mostly been made using natural dyes with muted hues.
- Take the rug into bright daylight or under strong natural light. Look closely at its pile — sometimes unscrupulous restorers merely disguise worn patches with a dab of paint. While the worn areas become almost invisible, such carpets are too fragile to be used.
- Turn the carpet around and look for signs of repairs, such as patches sewn in to replace a worn area or holes. Also look out for moth damage and damp patches, which, if untreated, will shrink the carpet’s life.
Carpet care
- Use a rug pad underneath if placing an antique carpet on the floor. If the carpet is particularly old/weak, use it as a throw on a couch instead.
- Rotate the carpet periodically, so that no one side wears out completely.
- Air antique rugs at least once a year. Bright sunshine is the best antidote to moths. It also warms the wool making it softer.
- Vacuum your rug daily in the direction of the pile.
Rug-ged lessons
- The Carpet Cellar holds carpet appreciation workshops at: 1, Anand Lok, Khelgaon Marg, New Delhi (Info: 011-26261777/ 41641777 or email at info@carpetcellar.com)
- tea-and-carpets.blogspot.com
- rugrabbit.com
- spongobongo.com
