Where to start?
A. How to pick a dealer?
Look for a dealer who has pretty rug where you do
not feel under pressure to buy. Take your time
look at rugs and feel as many rugs as you can.
Early on my dear friend James
"Uncle Jimmy" Keshishian A.S.A.
told me there is one simple way to became a rug
expert, feel 10,000 of each kind.
There is a lot of truth to that. If you are
having a tough time finding a good dealer post a
question on my discussion board and you will get
suggestions of good people to try in your area if
possible.
A word of warning however, if it looks to good to
be true it probably is too good to be true.
Avoid
- Short notice auctions
- Hotel or in-store auctions
- Going out of business(GOB) sales
- 50% off sales
and any place where you feel under pressure.
If you are not sure put a note on the discussion
board and you will generally get some very good
response. You may also want to check and see if
any dealers in your area are on our Trusted Resource List.
B. Join some of the discussion
lists on the Internet.
Other people have been asking many of the same
sort of questions that you probably have been
wondering about. I sponsor a list at Oriental
Rug Questions.
C. Rug
Societies can be a great place to learn about
rugs and to meet people with similar interests.
D. Here are a few
articles of particular benefit for beginners.
Uncle Jimmy Keshishian wrote them as an
introduction to Oriental Carpets for a trade
magazine.
Oriental
Rugs: Technical Analyses and Recordation by James Mark Keshishian A.S.A.
Oriental
Rugs: Practical Seminar on Caucasian Rugs by James Mark Keshishian A.S.A.
Oriental
Rugs: Valuation Affected By Conservation, Repair
and Restoration by James
Mark Keshishian A.S.A.
Warp
Depression by Daniel DSD
E. Books - a good library
is at the heart of any rug collection.
Three excellent(and
inexpensive) introductory books for beginners:
- Milanesi,
Enza.The Bullfinch Guide To Carpets.
1992, Boston:Little Brown and Company,
1993
- O'Bannon,
George W. Oriental Rugs.
Philadelphia: Running Press,1995.
- Dr. Jon
Thompson Oriental
Carpets.
New York: Penguin Books, 1993.
Excellent General Rug books for
everyone:
- Eiland,
Murray L Jr. Oriental Rugs A New
Comprehensive Guide.
Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1993
3rd edition.
- Ford,P.
R. J. Oriental Carpet Design.
London: Thames and Hudson, 1981,
paperback 1993.
- Hubel,
Reinhard G. The Book of Carpets.
1964, Accokeek MD, Washington
International Associates, 1971.
- Stone,Peter.The
Oriental Rug Lexicon.
Seattle, University of Washington Press,
1997.
F.
Hali The
International Magazine of Antique Carpet and
Textile Art. A wonderful magazine. I strongly
urge you to subscribe it is not inexpensive but
it is truly a bargain for whatthey deliver.
For Further Reading:
Thanks and best wishes:
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
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