Today is January 17, 2016.
Yesterday I received an email from one of my best wholesalers of Persian tribal rugs with this news. The Persian rug embargo is lifted, over, done, no longer in effect! Here's the LINK!
Prior to this most recent embargo I specialized in Persian rugs (tribal rugs from Southern Iran) and rugs from Afghanistan in tribal designs. The current embargo went into effect in 2010. Prior to the deadline, I purchased as many high quality Persian rugs as I could afford for my gallery. I still have a number of pieces which I consider extraordinary but it will only get better from here.
It will take a while for the first shipments to arrive as rugs being imported normally travel in containers by ship so do not expect new inventory tomorrow in the rug stores but in the next few months we will see a trickle and then more and more as time moves forward.
It's an exciting time for Oriental Rug merchants that love to sell these types of rugs and I will purchase whatever I can within the parameters of my finances and what I find to be representative of the best and most beautiful craftsmanship. I should probably say craftswoman-ship, as all of the Persian weavers that are creating the rugs that I purchase are adult women weaving in their homes or in a small village cooperative. They have my respect, for sure. The patience and care that is so evident in a beautiful rug, never fails to amaze me.
If you are unfamiliar with tribal rugs, originally, these were the rugs woven by nomads and pastoral weavers such as the Qashqai, the Backhtiari, Khamseh, Lori and Kurdish weavers. Differing drastically from rugs that have been woven in city workshops such as Tabriz or Isfahan.
The tribal weavers have their own design repertoire, most being taught by their mothers from a young age. First they may learn how to weave a leaf, a bird, a border design and so forth. Sometimes they may refer to a picture as they weave but that's about the extent of the predetermined look of the rug. After they learn the basic designs of their tribal heritage, they then have the freedom to create any combinations of these elements into a fascinating whole. Weaving is a beautiful art form with endless possibilities, which makes my job never boring and always fascinating. The weavers have the freedom to improvise, move this or that design element or lovingly insert an intentional mistake with reverence to a higher power which is the only entity with the ability and gift to create perfection.
In my article How to Buy and Oriental Rug, I go into the differences of the basic two types of rugs and of course, there are always those rugs that fall somewhere in the middle.
If you are considering purchasing a genuine Persian rug (woven in Iran) in the near or distant future, as stated, there are some amazing and beautiful Persian rugs here in the US today but if you do not find the piece that makes your heart sing, your choices will only improve from today forward.
Yesterday I received an email from one of my best wholesalers of Persian tribal rugs with this news. The Persian rug embargo is lifted, over, done, no longer in effect! Here's the LINK!
Prior to this most recent embargo I specialized in Persian rugs (tribal rugs from Southern Iran) and rugs from Afghanistan in tribal designs. The current embargo went into effect in 2010. Prior to the deadline, I purchased as many high quality Persian rugs as I could afford for my gallery. I still have a number of pieces which I consider extraordinary but it will only get better from here.
It will take a while for the first shipments to arrive as rugs being imported normally travel in containers by ship so do not expect new inventory tomorrow in the rug stores but in the next few months we will see a trickle and then more and more as time moves forward.
It's an exciting time for Oriental Rug merchants that love to sell these types of rugs and I will purchase whatever I can within the parameters of my finances and what I find to be representative of the best and most beautiful craftsmanship. I should probably say craftswoman-ship, as all of the Persian weavers that are creating the rugs that I purchase are adult women weaving in their homes or in a small village cooperative. They have my respect, for sure. The patience and care that is so evident in a beautiful rug, never fails to amaze me.
If you are unfamiliar with tribal rugs, originally, these were the rugs woven by nomads and pastoral weavers such as the Qashqai, the Backhtiari, Khamseh, Lori and Kurdish weavers. Differing drastically from rugs that have been woven in city workshops such as Tabriz or Isfahan.
The tribal weavers have their own design repertoire, most being taught by their mothers from a young age. First they may learn how to weave a leaf, a bird, a border design and so forth. Sometimes they may refer to a picture as they weave but that's about the extent of the predetermined look of the rug. After they learn the basic designs of their tribal heritage, they then have the freedom to create any combinations of these elements into a fascinating whole. Weaving is a beautiful art form with endless possibilities, which makes my job never boring and always fascinating. The weavers have the freedom to improvise, move this or that design element or lovingly insert an intentional mistake with reverence to a higher power which is the only entity with the ability and gift to create perfection.
In my article How to Buy and Oriental Rug, I go into the differences of the basic two types of rugs and of course, there are always those rugs that fall somewhere in the middle.
If you are considering purchasing a genuine Persian rug (woven in Iran) in the near or distant future, as stated, there are some amazing and beautiful Persian rugs here in the US today but if you do not find the piece that makes your heart sing, your choices will only improve from today forward.
Caveat: Sometimes a rug is available and the price
is fair for what it is and there will never be another one exactly like it. If you find such a piece, I wholeheartedly recommend you to buy it!
If you would like to see a few of my rugs, here you are:
Penny Krieger, owner
