Chinese Silk rugs

The manufacturing of the fine quality silk carpets in China started 25-30 years ago, for which the best quality silk produced in the country is used. For most of the designs Persian motifs adopted from Iranian master workshops are used (Tabriz, Qom, Isfahan, Kerman Ravar). The most typical motifs show the Garden of Paradise or a garden scene. Flower motifs appear as well, covering the surface of the carpet, either with or without medallion in the middle. A fineness of the Chinese rugs is usually measured by the number of yarns (threads) in one foot (30,48 cm). The most well-known fineness-types are marked as 150, 260, 300, 400; more rare are the 500, 600, 700, 800 yarn carpets. A carpet with 300 yarns has around 1 million knot/m2, as there is 300 yarns in a foot (305 mm), which results in 1 knot/mm2. The quality of the silk is excellent, which gives the carpets durability and permanence.

The more fine ones (with 500-800 yarns) take a lot of time and specialized knowledge, therefore they are not profitable for most of the workshops, so they become more and more rare. Nowadays the most common type is the one with 150-200 yarns, which rugs are beautiful and are available at a fair price. These carpets keep their value very well and will be more available as the silk manufacturing in Iran is decreasing, and the value of the carpets are rising as time goes by.

What makes a hand-knotted rug valuable?