So, I’m shopping for an oriental rug…
Some are $1800 and some are $18,000.
What do you look for to tell the quality of an oriental rug?
I can’t speak to persian rugs…but in carpets…the loop count generally denotes quality.
The more loops per inch the higher the quality.
Basically what Reeder said. Many factors influence an Oriental rug’s price, but the key factor is the knot count, usually listed as “KPSI” or knots per square inch. The higher the count, the better the rug. The knot count for a typical rug will run between about 120 and 180, but I have seen counts as high as 800 on masterpiece-quality rugs.
The rug’s origin can also influence its price: an authentic Persian rug, made within or near the borders of modern-day Iran in one of the traditional rug-making centers such as Isfahan, Kashan, Kerman, Qum, or Tabriz, will generally run more than an Indian or Chinese imitation of the Persian style. Likewise, an authentic, traditional Chinese-, Indian-, or Turkish-style rug will generally cost more than an imitation Persian from the same region.
You also want a rug with natural dyes and not synthetic. Wet a handkerchief and rub the underside of the rug. If no dye comes off, it’s natural.