So, you’ve gotten a gorgeous Persian rug at an awesome price, but now you’re wondering if it might be a fake. How can you tell? There are a few things to look for.
Your Persian rug might be a fake if:
It has a hard, plastic back. An authentic Persian rug will always have a soft backing, and the pattern on the back will be a mirror image of what you see on the top.
It’s made from polyester. A genuine Persian rug is made from wool.
The colors bleed into one another. With a true Persian rug, the dyes are all made from vegetable products, and the strands are individually dyed. The dyes are colorfast, too, so there’s no bleeding.
The dealer won’t offer a guarantee. Anyone who is selling you a genuine Persian rug will always offer you a money-back guarantee if you’re not satisfied. If the dealer doesn’t want to give you that guarantee, then there’s a very good chance that the rug is not authentic.
There are bald spots on the rug that are covered with ink. A disreputable seller will hope that you don’t notice flaws like this. He also won’t tell you what type of dye was used in the making of the rug.
The fringe is not knotted onto the rug. Fake oriental rugs often have fringes that are either glued on, or sewn – not knotted. Keep in mind that a knotted fringe isn’t just a design element. It’s proof that your rug is genuine. There is, quite simply, no such thing as a genuine Oriental rug that has a fringe that is sewn or glued as opposed to knotted.
The seller says you’ll get a great deal because he’s going out of business. Yes, he is. He’s going out of business because he’s going to move to the next street corner and try to scam other people into buying his “authentic” Oriental rugs. He knows that, in the words of P.T. Barnum, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Don’t be that sucker.
The rug is too cheap. Even if the seller isn’t pulling the “going out of business” scam, if a Persian rug is priced really low, it’s pretty much a given that it’s not an authentic Persian rug. A good Persian rug takes a long time to make, and is made from the best materials, and you’re simply never going to get one for the same price you’d pay for an area rug from Walmart, no matter what the seller wants you to believe.
It doesn’t come from a reputable rug store. If you want to be sure that you’re getting a genuine, hand-knotted Persian rug, buy only from a reputable store. You won’t find an authentic Persian rug on a street corner. A good store will give you a good deal – a sidewalk vendor will just give you over-priced garbage.
