Walking on Art by Fran Jasper

There are contemporary and traditional rugs. Contemporary rugs can make a statement, breaking away from traditional designs. They can be made from a number of materials and can be as different as black is too white. Traditional rug are culturally derived over a period of generations. Generally, traditional rugs have Persian patterns and colors appropriate for the time period in which they were made.

In 1980 I sold an antique Serapi for five thousand dollars to a doctor in Indiana. Today I could not purchase that rug for less than twenty five thousand dollars. Not all rugs increase in value as this rug does. However, antique Serapis are very sought after. In antique rugs the value is determined by the supply, demand, quality, and age of the rug.

Brian McCarthy, a famous Manhattan interior designer and advocate of oriental and decorative rugs once said, “The roots of the room are the rug and if you don’t have good roots you won’t have a pretty tree.”