“Your camera for a rug?” The look on my face must have asked if he was joking because the man replied, “I am serious.” I bet he was. There are no shortages of rugs in Istanbul and we happened to be walking through an area, which was an extravaganza of rug boutiques. Rug weaving is still very much an ancient craft since. Weavers begin with wool and work their way up to silk. Silk is the strongest natural fiber on earth. There are many kinds of rugs. Wool on cotton. Wool on wool. Silk on silk. Silk on cotton. Mercerized. Even the fringes have meaning. Braided fringes are more significant than non-braided. How tight was it weaved? How old is the piece? What is the origin of the motif? Where is the region it was created? Is it really hand-made or machine-made?
If I knew rugs, I probably could have bartered the deal of all deals, which if properly selected could have been worth many times the value of the trade, but I am far from a rug connoisseur. Rug prices are purposefully inflated in order to come down and I would have no idea where to start. They are all unique and to me, it is visually chaotic.
For a purveyor of rugs there was a deal to be had, but like purchasing a camera, you need to know what you want going in.