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Rug Collecting
by Kenneth Bisco
http://www.fesrug.com
As far as hobbies go, collecting rugs has a lot in its
favor. For a start it offers the bonus of helping you
furnish your home with interesting and decorative pieces
- a real bonus for any hobby. But how do you get started
with this hobby?
First of all you need to understand the rugs that might
warrant collecting and how to get hold of them. Like the
majority of good hobbies knowing all about rugs means
learning over many years - but at least you can know the
basics before you dedicate your hard earned cash to buying.
There are some really old rugs still in existence. For
example a woven style rug in prime condition from the 5th
century BC turned up in Siberia in the early part of the
20th century. Also there are some authentic examples of
very old rugs from around in the world that can be
collected - but these will be very expensive to acquire.
If LA happens to be on your travels, you can see a great
example of a genuine antique rug at the LA County Museum of
Art. Here a huge rug by Maqsud of Kashan dating from the
16th century is on display. This is actually only half a
rug, the other half is displayed at in London at the
Victoria and Albert Museum.
The techniques and art of this rug can still be seen in
modern day rugs made by the traditional methods in old
Persia, modern Iran or in Afghanistan. These two places
are not at present popular holiday destinations, but many
people naturally wonder if they can start out on their rug
collection whilst on holiday in a country with a rug-making
tradition - somewhere like Turkey for instance.
There are potential advantages of buying rugs directly from
their place of origin as you will likely have a great range
to choose from as well as getting a better deal. However,
this has its disadvantages too. One of them being that if
you do not have to know how to select a good one you may
pay too much for a carpet claiming to be the genuine
article. Some people selling rugs see the tourist as a
good target to fob off the cheap replicas that are produced
especially for this market. Therefore the novice might be
better advised to purchase at home first. Whilst it is
probably a more expensive option you will be able to
reclaim your money if an item has been sold to you under
false pretences. Moreover, as sellers in the US will be
concerned about the image of their business as offering
good quality merchandise, they will be less likely to sell
you something that claims to be what it is not.
Should this approach not appeal to you then there is an
option - begin collecting those rugs that you really like.
This is a no-lose approach since you have invested in
something you find beautiful. You will be rewarded by the
carpet every time you pass by or walk over it. If you also
decide to make your choices from small scale rug-makers
then you will be picking up delightful and rare examples
whilst doing your bit for supporting the craft movement.
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