Zoran Nesovic can talk about carpets for days. He received a design education in the East and knows everything about them, or almost everything. We shamelessly took advantage of our acquaintance with Zoran to find out as many secrets as possible from him.
The mystery of the Persian carpet
What are the best carpets? Of course, Persian, they are made by hand in small workshops on the territory of present-day Iran. Persian carpets have not only fantastic beauty, but also a history that is as old as modern civilization. Carpets are woven in many places in Iran – from Tabriz to Isfahan, from Nain to Kerman, but Qom is considered the “capital of silk carpets”, a holy city for Muslims located 150 km south of Tehran. The art of carpet weaving flourished here in the 30s of the last century thanks to the efforts of Shah Reza Pahlavi, an ardent supporter of national customs.
How to determine the quality of a carpet? The most common indicator is density, it depends on the number of nodes per square meter. The denser the carpet, the stronger and lighter it is. Carpets with a density of more than 1,5 million knots are rare and very expensive. I only saw a carpet once that had 2,4 million knots per square meter (the craftsman had been making it for four and a half years). This rug was as thin as a silk shawl. In addition to density, there are many characteristics that determine the quality and price of a carpet. For example, the type of drawing, its clarity, the number of colors, size. And even how many people weaved it. Better if it will be one person, then there is a guarantee that the drawing will be transferred without errors. Another important point: the base of a silk carpet should be woven from silk, not cotton.
How much can a good rug cost? In Moscow, a three-by-two-meter silk carpet, a real godfather (usually carpets are named after the place of their production), costs up to $ 60. Moscow prices are quite high, on the other hand, they are constantly growing, and buying a carpet can be a good investment. Over the past seven years, Iranian carpets have risen in price by 200%, and this is not the limit.
How to choose a carpet for a finished interior? Better to do it differently. First, buy a carpet, and then pick up furniture for it. Judge for yourself: how much can a sofa cost? Maximum ten, twenty thousand. The Persian silk carpet is an order of magnitude higher. The second option is to look for a carpet in the interior design process, taking into account its character and overall color scheme. This is how many Moscow designers, architects, decorators, with whom I work, work.
How long can an oriental carpet live? The oldest carpet in the world, which is kept in the Hermitage, is two and a half thousand years old. It was found in 1949 during excavations in the Altai mountains, in the burial of the leader, and is still in good condition. Your carpet can last as long if you handle it with care. There is one secret that not everyone knows about: for the preservation of the Persian carpet, it is very important to be walked on. The bigger, the better!
5 tips for buying
- Choose a rug not only for the price and quality, but also for the inner feel. It may be very good in itself, but not “yours” at all.
- Before deciding to buy, take the carpet home for one or two days, observe how it will look in a particular room at different times of the day.
- Think in advance exactly where the carpet will lie – it may turn out that the furniture will cover the most expressive part of its design.
- To understand if a silk carpet contains additions of cotton thread, remember it in your hands (silk is very soft to the touch) and look from different angles: silk should shimmer, changing color, but cotton should not.
- Remember that a good carpet defines the character of the interior, so you shouldn’t skimp on it!
3 enemies of the Persian carpet
- Sharp heels. They can cause quite serious damage to silk carpet, which depends on the shape of the heels and the weight of their owner. The same danger is posed by furniture with sharp legs.
- Red wine. If you or your guests lightly spilled wine on a Persian rug, it will have to return to Iran, where it will be thoroughly washed and then dried for several weeks. Regular dry cleaning is categorically excluded.
- Boiling water. An overturned cup of tea or hot water is likely to leave a noticeable stain. The recipe for “treatment” is the same: send the carpet to the workshop for restoration.