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.
A finishing treatment that makes newly made rugs look antique, best known from Peshawar (Chobi) rugs and Kazak-style rugs woven today. The freshly woven rug, whose colors start out dark, is stone-washed (Peshawar rugs are also left in strong sunlight) so the colors soften and fade, and the pile is cut short, which is why these rugs feel thin and low yet stay durable. Oushak-style rugs from the same workshops receive a comparable antique wash. Colors treated to look old tend to show a bleached look and a sharp band of color in the middle of each fiber, unlike the even fade of natural aging.