The rounded feet-and-inches size under which a hand-knotted rug is listed, such as 9 x 12 ft (about 2.7 x 3.7 m), which only approximates its real dimensions. Persian and many other Oriental rugs are made to metric measurements and vary a little as they are woven by hand, so after conversion the actual size usually runs a few inches (roughly 5-10 cm) over or under; a rug listed as 9 x 12 ft may measure 9 ft 2 in by 12 ft 5 in (about 279 x 378 cm). Sizes are quoted width first, and the fringe is generally not counted in the length.
A prized rug wool from the Ghazni region of Afghanistan. Like other top-grade fleece it is thick and oily, and it is ranked with Manchester wool and New Zealand wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs. Kazak rugs woven by Afghan weavers in Pakistan use it hand-spun.
A rug made by punching pile yarn through a stretched cloth base with a hand-held tufting tool and fixing the loops with a glued backing, rather than tying knots by hand around warp and weft threads. Its back shows cloth and adhesive instead of individual knots and feels less soft than a knotted rug's. It ranks below hand-knotted and above machine-made rugs, does not last as long as a knotted rug, and is not considered a genuine Persian or Oriental rug. Because it is sometimes sold simply as "handmade", the term hand-knotted is the one that identifies a knotted rug.
A loose sales label for a rug made by hand rather than by machine. It is sometimes simply another word for hand-knotted, but it is not a guarantee of it: some dealers apply it to hand-tufted rugs, in which yarn is punched through a backing with a hand-held tufting gun. Hand-tufted rugs rank below hand-knotted ones, are not expected to last as long and are not considered authentic Persian or Oriental rugs, so hand-knotted is the term to look for in a description. Machine-made rugs rank lowest.
A rug produced by industrial machinery, typically on power looms, rather than knotted by hand, usually from synthetic fibers such as polyester, polypropylene or nylon, and finished in hours rather than months. Its design looks perfectly symmetrical yet slightly fuzzy, and its edges measure almost exactly alike. The back feels stiff and plastic-like, with a regular honeycomb texture on which the pattern cannot be read. Any fringe is a uniform synthetic trim attached at the end of production, and some rugs have none, unlike a hand-knotted rug, whose fringe is its own foundation threads. Machine-made rugs are less expensive, of lower quality and wear out sooner, and are not authentic Persian or Oriental rugs.
The root of the madder plant (Rubia tinctorum), a natural red dye and the source of the terracotta tones in Persian and Oriental rugs. Together with indigo and walnut husks it is among the plant dyes used to color the wool, bonding to its natural lanolin. Slight shade variations within one color area, known as abrash, are normal in rugs dyed this way.
Wool sourced from New Zealand, ranked with Manchester and Ghazni wool among the three best-known high-quality wools for Persian and Oriental rugs; good rug wool of this kind feels thick and oily. Because it is imported rather than taken from local flocks, its use affects a rug's price. It is cited for the pile of Pakistan-woven Oushak, Ziegler and Peshawar rugs, sometimes paired with Ghazni wool, and for the thick pile of Kazak Azari rugs.
A hand-knotted rug from the weaving lands of Asia and the Middle East, usually named for the city or region it comes from and known for intricate designs. In the trade pairing “Persian and Oriental,” Persian means made in Iran and Oriental covers the other origins, such as Turkey, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and China, for example Pakistan-made Kazak, Oushak-design and Bokhara rugs or Afghan Khal Mohammadi rugs; used broadly, the word also takes in Persian rugs. Look-alikes from Pakistan, India or China are not Persian. Only hand-knotted rugs are authentic; hand-tufted rugs, which are sometimes sold as “handmade,” and machine-made rugs rank below. A rug’s country and city of origin tell a buyer what to expect of its typical colors and quality.
A technique where vintage or antique rugs are bleached to remove original colors and then re-dyed, typically in vibrant, saturated hues like turquoise, purple, or hot pink. This process gives traditional Oriental rugs a contemporary look while preserving their original patterns and textures. Popular in modern interior design for adding a bold color statement with traditional patterns.
The first washing of raw wool after shearing, in which dirt and other impurities are removed from the fleece. It is one of the opening processes in preparing wool for Persian and Oriental rugs and is followed by carbonizing, carding and spinning into yarn.
Wool left in its natural fleece colors, with no dye applied, so its shades run only through white, cream, brown, gray and black. Weavers combine white and black wool to reach these tones, which is how natural Gabbeh rugs, usually on a cream ground, get their palette. Many cream grounds in Persian and Oriental rugs also contain undyed wool; these areas can show slight variations of tone that shift as the rug ages, which is normal and not a defect.