For some people possessing an antique Persian rug is an exquisite pleasure. Sheer prodigious skill and interweaving of exoticism make their selection and acquisition a rare thrill. It is not an easy task to find a value for money antique rug from a wholesale Persian rugs dealer for persons who have only very little knowledge about rugs.

From where to buy wholesale Persian rugs?

Iran formerly known as Persia is the most varied and prolific source of carpets. Iran is also another similar place where original rug designs are taking birth. This never means that the carpets from countries like Turkey, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, China, etc are inferior. Sometimes they are even superior to the prototype with regard to the clarity and robustness.

Important factors to consider while purchasing oriental rugs

1. The first thing one must do for buying a good antique Persian rug is to avoid the carpet boutiques found in big cities. Big tourist centres, business centres and big cities may be having very exquisite and elaborate show rooms. It is better to avoid such centres and go to smaller dealers where you will get all the information needed and the guidance in taking the correct rug.
2. “Knowledge is power”. These are the words of a writer who has written a guide on oriental ug buying. She says it is better to have some basic information about oriental and Persian rugs before you set out your journey to buy one such rug. If you do not have enough knowledge about the superiority of Persian rugs there is no doubt that your search for a precious antique rug will end up in a machine made carpet. If you can pay attention to the following three factors chances are that you will never lose your way in the middle of your search for a Persian rug.
3. The know count: When you say an Persian or oriental rug or when you say  a prayer mat, it automatically means a hand woven one on a loom or a hand knotted carpet using natural fibers. It does not mean anything else. In the dealers shop, turn over the carpet you are examining and look at the reverse side. The knots on a carpet made using machine will show suspicious uniformity.  A handmade rug will not be having refined uniformity in knots. As a rule of thumb one can fix 120 knots per square inch as the minimum knot density needed for the rug you are going to buy.
4. The fiber: Finding out the right fiber for your carpet is very important. It will be better to have some knowledge about the fibers that are commonly used in Persian rugs and methods to find out whether the fiber claimed by the dealer is the one really used in the rug under consideration. It will be better to ask the dealer to conduct a burn test if you are not able to ascertain the correctness of the fiber used by visual inspection.
5. Color : Artificial dyes can never match their natural alternatives like cochineal red, indigo blue, pomegranate yellow , orange henna, gallnut black etc. Natural colors are often bright and rich in color like natural flowers. They should never be like the red of a hot tomato. Orange and hot pinks are often chemical colors. Dyes differ in the way they get penetrated into the fiber.  This can be found by bending the carpet so that the individual threads are exposed from top to bottom. Synthetic coloring will give an even look whereas natural colors will be showing some variances.

Hot to haggle?

When you interact with a dealer with an intension to buy a rug you may often hear the common refrain “are you insulting me”? This is the tactics of the dealer to create some embarrassment in you and to get the thing sold easily.  The only solution that is practical in such a situation is to tell the wholesale oriental rugs VA dealer frankly that he is trying to intimidate you and you are not going to surrender to such exploitation. This will make you closer to the purchase of the rug you desire.