Buying
The back of the rug tells you everything the front will not
Turn it over in the shop. Thirty seconds on the reverse will tell you more about what you are being sold than an hour of sales talk.
Daniel Okonjo2 min read
A hand-knotted carpet is legible from behind because the knots themselves form the image. You are looking at the same pattern, at the same resolution, in the same colours. Nothing about that is true of a machine-made or tufted rug, and that is the first thing the back gives away.
What you are looking for
- The pattern reads clearly on the reverse. If the back is a blur, or a sheet of glued canvas, it is not hand-knotted.
- The knots are slightly irregular. Perfectly uniform rows mean a machine wove it.
- The fringe is a continuation of the warps, not a strip sewn on. Lift it and look at where it meets the body.
- Colours on the back are marginally brighter than the front, because the front has taken the light.
A tufted rug has a fabric backing glued over the reverse. There is exactly one reason to hide the back of a rug.
Counting knots yourself
Measure one inch horizontally along the back and count the knots — each is a small node of two warp threads. Do the same vertically. Multiply the two and you have the knots per square inch, which is the figure we list on every piece. You do not have to take anyone's word for it.
In practice, anything over 200 KPSI is a fine carpet, over 400 is exceptional, and over 700 is museum work that takes years. Below 120, you are looking at a village or tribal weave — which is not a lesser thing, just a different one, and priced accordingly.
The bits people forget
Look at the selvedges, the finished long edges. They should be tightly overcast in wool, ideally in a colour that belongs to the design. Fraying selvedges are cheap to repair and a fair thing to negotiate on. Then check the carpet lies flat: a piece that will not sit down has been woven under uneven tension and will fight the floor forever.