The Oriental Carpet Buyer

As usual, I was inspired by something my son said the other day to write this. I needed to pick out carpets for a trip to upstate New York and he came along with me to visit some of Manhattan’s whole sellers. We walk into one and as I look around he stops next to a carpet and stares at it for a while. He turns and asks me, “How did they make this color?” It was a light blue color that was made using a synthetic dye. I replied, “That one’s made in China, it’s normal.”

My son was around Oriental rugs throughout his childhood while growing up in Turkey. He knows when something is different in a rug. And that Chinese-made rug had many things differences about it that he could see for himself.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with Chinese-made Oriental rugs. It is normal that cheaper labor is sought out in places like China. Of course, I do not agree with their labor practices, but I feel that way about carpets made anywhere else. What I do have a problem with is those who sell these carpets pretending they are authentic. So for all first-time Oriental Carpet buyers out there, I would like to tell you a little about Chinese-made Oriental rugs, so that you may have a better chance of identifying one.

Here are some very basic characteristics that immediately give them away.

1. Color

You will find colors in a Chinese-made rug that you have seen nowhere else: Elvis blue, Hello Kitty pink, and 100% pure Tropicana orange.

2. Workmanship

Much like a car factory, Chinese-made Oriental pile carpets are fabricated in an assembly line fashion. The same carpet is made by 20 people at the same time. They all tie the same knot at the same time, all directed by a supervisor, with a plot of the carpet. He yells out a color and they all tie that knot. When they get to the end a blade comes down, cuts the pile then it gets packed down similarly with a comb. The workers just have to stay clear of the blade and comb.

In the end the pile is not very closely cut, so you end up with a very thick carpet, and one that is packed down very hard.

3. Design

A popular design to copy - among others - are the Turkish Hereke silk carpets. These rugs, with their fine knotting are very rarely made today, and if so, are not knotted as finely. When made in China, the silk used is of inferior quality (this is a euphemism). Just like a cat’s hair falls out, so does the silk used in these carpets. TO AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

So where will you find these carpets? Most whole sellers in Manhattan carry these. Now whether they always tell the truth about the origin of these masterpieces is what is important here. Because, frankly, if a customer asks me for a cheap rug that will fall apart in a few years, I would suggest to them to purchase a Chinese rug. However, never will I pass one off as an authentic piece of work.

To give a few major names, I have seen these carpets at ABC and the ultimate source for authentic handmade carpets, Bloomingdales.