A rug about 100 years old or older, the point at which an old rug is called antique rather than vintage or semi-antique. Age is a price factor of its own, since a 200-year-old rug costs more than an otherwise equal 100-year-old one, and it works alongside artistry, rarity (for example the output of a workshop that no longer exists) and condition. Very old rugs have often been repaired at some point, which shows most clearly from the back, so condition calls for close inspection.
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 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 soft, mellowed look a rug's natural dyes acquire over decades of use and light, as the colors settle into subtler, more harmonious tones that mellow rather than merely fade; the wool also grows softer and loose fibers wear away, so the pattern reads more sharply. It is fullest in antique rugs and is treated as a mark of genuine age. Artificial aging treatments imitate it but tend to give a bleached look with an abrupt band of color in the fiber instead of a gradual fade from tip to base.
Specialist work that mends damaged rugs, including re-knotting or reweaving worn areas, patching, overcasting (rebinding the edge), stretching, fringe replacement and color restoration. Small, skilled repairs that are hard to see are generally acceptable on an older rug, and an unrepaired rug commands the highest price. Visible patches, seams or stitching, easiest to spot from the back, and replaced fringes (the fringe being the rug's own warp ends, not a trim) count as major repairs that shorten a rug's life and lower its value considerably. Very old rugs often carry some repair, so a supposedly antique rug with none may be a newer recreation, though that clue alone is not conclusive.
An age class for rugs that are no longer new but not yet antique, in trade usage typically no older than about 60 to 70 years, though dealers' cut-offs vary, some counting from about 50 years or stretching the class toward 100 years, and the looser label vintage, applied to rugs of roughly 20 to 90 years, overlaps it. They are priced on the same factors as new rugs (material, design, colors, weaver skill, straightness) plus condition: repairs, color run and how evenly the pile has worn. Because material and labor costs rise every year, a comparable semi-antique rug usually costs less than a new one.