Actually, it does not matter if you are planning Oriental Rug Cleaning In New York City or any other part of the world – both occidental and oriental. Rugs and carpets that are described as “oriental” are generally expensive and usually handmade and possibly delicate. This is why they must be cleaned with great care.
The concept of using woven or knotted natural fibres to make coverings for the floors of the more affluent human dwellings is thought to have its origins in that part of the world that those of us in Europe and the Americas casually refer to s the “orient” –meaning the East. Since the planet Earth is a globe, there is no part of it that could be truthfully referred to as “the east”. However, the term is accepted as covering any geographical location that is basically in the northern hemisphere and lies to the east of the Mediterranean Sea but not beyond Japan (to some, the whole Mediterranean coastline of North Africa should also be included).
Original Usage For Oriental Rugs
Probably the potentates and emperors of old eastern regions gave little thought to their carpets and rugs; slaves were there to take the rugs out and beat the dirt and dust out of them and, when they began to show signs of wear and tear; they were simply replaced. It should also be remembered that their custom at that time often decreed that one went bare foot indoors and that these same rugs were often used as both wall and floor coverings. Their artistic designs were the ancient equivalent of the paintings, etc that we hang on our walls today.
Oriental Rugs Today
Possibly the oldest known extant example of ancient carpets is the Pazyryk carpet which is thought to have been woven in Armenia or Persia around 400 B.C. It is currently on display in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia – imagine the trepidation of any curator who decides that this carpet might need cleaning!
All such old rugs have become highly sought after collector’s items and the current record price paid for one was $33.7 million for a 17TH century Persian rug sold in an auction at Sotheby’s in New York in 2013. Even if you have not invested such a huge amount in your oriental rug(s) and you do intend to place them on the floors of your New York home; you are not going to take any risks with them and you will be entrusting their maintenance only to the experts in oriental rug cleaning In New York City.
