A newly woven rug that copies the designs of much older rugs and is often finished to look aged, with a clipped low pile, stone washing, sun exposure and softly shaded natural dyes, although it has no real age. Peshawar (Chobi) rugs, and Oushak-style and Kazak-style rugs woven in Pakistan, are typical examples. Because old patterns keep being recreated, design alone cannot date a rug, and wear is an unreliable guide too. Experts look instead at the color: natural dyes fade gently down the pile fiber from tip to base, while treated color tends to look bleached with a sharp band. A supposedly very old rug with no repairs at all may be a recent copy.
A carpet deliberately treated after weaving to look worn and antique. The finish typically involves washing (often stone washing, sometimes chemical treatment), occasionally strong sunlight, and cutting the pile short, which softens the colors and leaves a thin, low pile while keeping the durability of a new rug; many new Oushak-, Kazak- and Peshawar-style rugs are finished this way. Treated color can be told from genuine age: it looks bleached and shows a sharp band of color inside the fiber, whereas natural fading is gentle and even from tip to base, so a worn look alone does not prove a rug is old.
The shortest pile tier in one dealer's four-tier scheme, about 1/8 to 1/4 in (3.2 to 6.4 mm) measured from the back of the rug to the top of the pile; the next tier, low-medium, runs to 1/3 in (8.5 mm). It feels smooth and shows a sharp, high-resolution design, so finely knotted rugs, silk Tabriz and other pure silk rugs are trimmed low, as are antique rugs worn down by age and antique-washed Oushak and Kazak rugs. It clears doors that swing over it, absorbs less humidity and dust and vacuums more easily, but bears heavy traffic and furniture less well than a taller pile.
A rug in the classic style of Ushak (Uşak), a Turkish weaving city with a long tradition of classical designs. Rugs sold under the name today are commonly hand-knotted in Pakistan, in workshops set up in the 1970s, in the trade account, by owners who left Iran after an embargo. They reproduce Turkish and old Persian patterns, mostly soft floral all-over or medallion layouts with little geometric drawing, in wool from Ghazni and New Zealand on a cotton foundation. Vegetable dyes, an antique wash, several shades of one color and a short, low pile give a muted, aged look, while designers choose palettes that follow color trends. Depending on design and knot density, the same family is also sold as Peshawar, Chobi, Ziegler or Ferahan.