Do you have a carpet but not sure how to tell if it’s an antique rug? Or perhaps the terms “antique”, “semi- antique”, “old” and “semi- old” confuse you?
Let’s start with the basics.
Rugs and carpets are a work of art. The prices are partly based on the current supply and demand. That coupled with the fact that good rugs improve in colour and look through ageing; make an antique rug more valuable. However, not all rugs appreciate in price.
It is usually dependent on the quality of the weave, colour , design and condition of the item. In some cases it is the rarity of design or origin.
Here’s the tricky part, the words ‘old’, ‘antique’ or ‘vintage’ can be very relative, as determining the age of a rug is not done in a scientific way. It is through experience, having the knowledge and worked with thousands of rugs.
There are a couple of reasons why this is the case when it comes to antique rugs. For one, it is near impossible to tell the exact year that a rug was made, unless there is provenance or it is dated. Hence, more often the age is given as a range. Second, considering that all other factors are at par with each other, age can means more money.
Typically stores selling an antique rug would use the following guidelines:
- Antique – 100 years and older
- Semi-Antique – 50 to 90 years old
- Old – 20 to 40 years old
- Semi-Old / Vintage – 20 to 50 years old
- Used – 1 to 10 years old
- New – unused, usually production
Antique rugs require a trained eye to determine their age and authenticity and if you require help or want to make sure you are purchasing a genuine antique rug, contact us at Sharafi and Co, where you can have the comfort of dealing with a LAPADA approved dealer
