Most collectors I know form collections based on their interests in particular types of village and nomadic rugs (Learn more about rug types here). Because these rugs were woven informally in the home primarily for domestic use, a village or nomadic rug conveys a great deal of history about the weaver, the culture she came from, and what she was trying to express. Collectors are often drawn to antique village and nomadic rugs because they are quite compelling.

Although there are collectors of workshop carpets, I don’t meet them as often. Antique rugs that were woven in workshop settings, where the weavers were being paid a daily wage to render a design that was created by someone else, generally are thought of now as being for the decorative market. Often designed with the export market in mind, they are subject to wider fluctuations in value than antique nomadic or village pieces. Fashions change, and decorative rugs are vulnerable to fluctuating taste in interior design. There are, of course, exceptions. Some of my favorite antique rugs come from cottage industry workshops in Northwest Persia, and were not expensive rugs when they were made. The Bakhshaish rug shown in the above illustration is a good example. Because of the rug’s lowly status, the weavers were free to create what they wanted and, as a result, there is a wonderful degree of expression. Today, these rugs are considerably more valuable than many of their urban workshop counterparts, exemplified by the Kirman carpet in the next illustration.