Area rugs are great to decorate with, providing multiple benefits to your room. When shopping for a new rug, one concern a homeowner might have is how to spot a fake antique rug. After all, while some dealers are great companies to buy a rug from, others are less than reputable. Here are five tips on how to find the real thing!
1. Does the rug have an attached rug pad?
A little while ago, we published a blog on how to identify an authentic antique rug. You might be tempted to think that these two topics are one and the same. However, one way to spot an antique rug — before ever needing to worry about its authenticity, is on its backside. If a dealer claims their rug is antique, yet it comes with a built-in pad, this is a huge red flag.
Pre-attached rug pads are a sign of a machine-made rug. For a rug to be antique, it must be at least 100 years old, which precludes the possibility of being machine-made.
2. Is there an attached materials tag?
Everyone has heard the joke that you shouldn’t remove a mattress tag. In the rug industry, it isn’t even possible for antique rugs to have modern tags. If a rug has one, it was created within the past few decades and may be vintage, but not antique.
3. What is it made of?
Let’s assume that you find no attached rug pad or materials tag. Is there any other easy way to spot a fake antique rug? Yes, there is: by the materials. Genuine antique rugs will be made of high-quality, traditional materials such as wool, silk, or cotton. If it contains other types, including modern synthetics, it’s not authentic.
4. How uniform do the threads and patterns look?
Another strong indicator that you have spotted a fake antique rug is if the rug’s weaving pattern is perfectly symmetrical and uniform. Antique rugs are made by hand, which means that there is no way for an identical weaving and knotting pattern on the back of it. In this case, imperfection is perfection and a strong sign that you have the real thing in front of you.
5. Is the rug worn or faded?
It’s worth repeating that an antique rug will be at least 100 years old. This means that it should look its age. Our next tip on how to spot an antique rug is that if the rug looks new, has perfect edging, or the colors are vibrant, then it’s unlikely to be real.
As a word of caution, there is a process called distressing that can simulate the look and feel of an antique rug. We’re not saying that all rugs that look old are antique. Rather, if the rug looks new, then it’s highly likely it is not antique.
Discover authentic antique rugs at Rug Source!
One detail we pride ourselves on is that we deal in authenticity 100% of the time. Whether you’re looking for Persian, Oriental, Turkish, or another style, we only sell rugs that we can verify. Each antique rug in our inventory is guaranteed to be truly authentic.
Would you like to chat with our team to find the perfect antique rug for your home? Then contact us today or stop by our showroom at 7215 Smith Corners Boulevard in Charlotte to see our wide selection of genuine antique rugs.
