Tulips and carnations bloom against the purple-red background of a 16th-century Turkish carpet. The effect is dazzling, says William Seward, "a visual feast." Seward, who has studied weavers' techniques in Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, is a dealer in Oriental carpets -- rugs hand-woven in the Middle East and Asia.
Seward says the Turkish antique rug has two attributes you should look for when shopping for a carpet for your home: natural dyes that boost its visual allure and durable wool that extends its life span. Yet only about one in 20 new Oriental carpets offer both.
Rugs made with natural dyes -- derived from plants and insects -- have colors that seem to shift hues. This jewel-like effect is lacking in rugs with synthetically dyed yarns. Seward demonstrates the difference by displaying a new rug made with naturally dyed fibers. As you step around the rug, its tomato-red flickers a shade of violet.
Carpets crafted with natural dyes generally cost almost twice as much as rugs made with synthetic dyes. In this case, the rug with natural dyes is priced at $99 a square foot -- or $4,850 for a 7-by- 7-foot size -- while the synthetically dyed rug costs $60 a square foot -- or $2,100 for a 5-by-7-foot size.
A rug's durability depends mainly on the quality of the wool. A carpet with the finest wool costs up to 25 percent more than one with mediocre wool. But better wool can extend a rug's life span by half.
Although dye type and wool quality are the most critical factors, some merchants play up the knot count per square inch. The higher the knot count, the finer the weave. Finely woven rugs render intricate patterns in sharp detail. But many modern homes with subdued decor are best matched with more coarsely woven rugs in simple patterns, Seward says.
Seward recommends four wholesalers that he says sell only rugs made with natural dyes and durable wool: Garuda Woven Art, www.garudawovenart.com; Miri & Jalili, www.jalilirugs.com; Woven Legends, www.wovenlegends.com; and Yayla, www.yayla.com. Although you cannot order from them directly, you can locate dealers through the Web sites.
Once you purchase a rug, consider insuring it. Most homeowners' policies set a carpet's replacement value by estimating the price of comparable rugs at the time of your claim. Seward recommends that you insure separately any carpet worth more than $5,000 because a separate policy allows you to lock in your purchase price as the reimbursement value. The cost is about $5 per year for every $1,000 of value.
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