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2. Terms you should be aware of about Persian rugs.

There are many different words that are used commonly, when discussing Persian rugs, and here are some with a brief description:

Name of the rug:

Persian Rugs are named after the city or the region in which they were made. Among the most popular ones are Tabriz, Bidjar, Nain, Qom, Hamadan, Mud, Meshkin, Mashhad, Kirman, etc. Each region has a unique characteristic and method of making rugs, so take a moment a look up a name on a map to see where the rug is from.

Wool: 

Material used to make the rug, unless otherwise specified it is Sheep wool that is used to make the rug.

Kurkwool:

Kurkwool is a much finer kind of wool than regular Sheep wool. It comes from Lamb. Just like the hair of a child is finer than the hair of an adult, the wool of a Lamb is much finer than a Sheep. Since a Lamb can only generate so much wool before it matures, the amount of wool is much less and therefor much more expensive than regular wool.

Silk:

Most finer Persian rugs have silk included in them, some have silk added to the wool while others are made completely of silk. The silk comes from the plants and is all natural. Some rugs, like many Chinese rugs for instance, use synthetic silk, which is much cheaper and not nearly as luxurious as real silk.

Foundation:

The foundation is the base of the rug. The most visible parts of the foundation are the fringes. Most Persian rugs have a cotton foundation, but there are also some rugs that have a silk foundation. These types of rugs are very valuable and are much more expensive than rugs with a cotton foundation. Some clients have asked me whether a silk foundation would be more fragile than cotton and actually the opposite is true. Either foundation will basically last a lifetime, but silk is one of the strongest natural substances and is extremely durable.

Pile:

The pile is the rug itself and it is the wool. Depending on the quality of the rug, you can have a pile from 1/4 to 3/4 inch thickness.

Many of the high end rugs are signed by the master weaver, but that does not mean that the rug is more valuable. Some retailers claim that a signed rug is worth more, which is for the most part absolutely wrong. It's just a sales pitch. There are some weavers, like for example Habibian, that are very famous and you will find many new high end Nain rugs with his signature. Unfortunately, Mr. Habibian died many years ago and I am not aware that he is able to rise from the dead to weave rugs. When a weaver becomes well known, it is very common to have other weavers copy his design and add a signature making it appear that it is the real thing. Unless there is absolute proof that the rug is made by a certain weaver or you trust the seller with your life, do not consider a signed rug to be worth more than others. Another example are my  pure silk Qom Persian rugs, which are virtually always signed, and if you look at the galleries in my website, you will notice that I do not make a big deal about it.

KPSI:

KPSI stands for knots per square inch. One of the best measures to check the quality of the rug and the honesty of the seller is to check the knot count. Simply get on your knees and count the knots over the distance of 1 inch and then square the number. Many seller will inflate the knot count to make it appear that the rug is finer or will claim that the rug is double or triple knotted and therefore not all knots are visible. One word, BULL___. Every knot is clearly visible in the back and the only hidden knots are the ones in the sellers imagination. First, ask the seller for the knot count and then measure for yourself and see what you get. Different rugs have a higher or lower knot count based on the way they were made. For example, a Persian Bidjar rug can have 300 kpsi and is as valuable as a 400 kpsi Persian Tabriz rug. As a rule, anything below 100 is low quality, 100-150 standard, 150-250 good, above 250 great. Some Persian rugs like pure silk pieces can have up to 1000 or more, but these are extremely rare and the prices are well, accordingly. For example, I only high end Tabriz and other fine rugs and they typically start at around 350 kpsi.

Raj:

Raj is the measurement of the quality for Tabriz rugs only. Some retailers will list a raj count for every type of rug, and this is absolutely wrong. Every region in Iran produces different type of rugs and different methods are used to classify the quality.

Here are the terms and measurements for some of the more popular Persian rugs:

Raj:
Again, only used for the Tabriz rugs. It is the number of knots over a distance of 1 raj, rawly 7 centimeters or 2.5 inches. The higher the raj, the better the quality and high quality pieces start at about 50 raj. Most high end Tabriz rugs are 50 raj and if you are new to rugs, look at the silk highlights and the quality. The rug should have very fine Kurkwool (Lambwool) and plenty of silk highlights. Also, some sellers will rank the rugs as 60 raj or higher to make the rug more expensive. Please note that virtually all Tabriz rugs in the above 50 raj category should have a silk foundation and they should feel very soft and light. There is a huge price difference between a 50 and higher rug and it's important that you know the actual count before you write the check. I have seen retailers, esspecially on Ebay and other internet places offer cotton foundation rugs at 60 raj and higher, which is basically fraud. In all my years, I have never seen a cotton foundation above 50 raj and it's just another example of how some sellers will deceive the buyer to make a sale.

Lah & Tapas:
This measurement is used in Nain rugs only and it refers to the numbers of yarn that make up each fringe. The lower the number, the finer the rug. For example,the most common Nain rugs are known as Tapas. They basically have about 12 yarn in each foundation which typically translates into about 100-140 kpsi. The finer ones are categorized in Lah and you can have either 9lah, 6lah, or 4lah. The lower the number, the finer the rug and esspecially the 6 and 4 lah are extremely fine and valuable. I have had a couple of 6lah and they typically have about 600 kpsi.

Reft:
This measurement is used in Isfahan rugs only. Even though Isfahan and Nain rugs are made in the same region. The reft is similar to the raj and is basically the number of knots over a distance of 10 cm. Most high end Isfahan rugs have a silk foundation and are basically a high end version of Nain rugs. It's like the difference between a Toyota and a Lexus. Both made by the same company, but with different goals and ideas.

Abrisham:

Means silk in Iranian (Farsi)

Alloh:

Means very fine or luxurious in Iranian (Farsi).  Typically, it refers to all silk pieces or very high quality wool rugs like a 60+ raj Tabriz or a 6lah Nain.