Customer Reviews

Official Price Guide to Oriental Rugs, 2nd edition (The Official Price Guide)

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Ms. Ware is a highly knowledgeable, respected expert in the field. This is a solid reference that does not, as some reviewers suggest, encourage buyers to rely entirely on dealers' self-interested recommendations, nor does it purport to eliminate the need to check on market conditions before buying.

First let me say that as a rug dealer of many years and founder of the Boston Rug Society and having written numerous articles in such journals Hali and Antiquitaten Zeitung there is no way of easily pricing antique oriental rugs and in this way is quite misleading. If one wants to gain insight into the pricing of oriental rugs I recommend a subscription to Hali and Sotheby's catalogues. By all means do not use this book to price oriental rugs. The best way to begin this process if you do have an heirloom you are wondering about is to have a professional appraisal done (auction houses such as Sotheby's and Skinner's will do this free of charge). This book is skimpy in its information and the dealer recommendations at the end of the book reads more like a list of friends of the author than a list of reputable dealers. Some of these people I know and are reputable while other on the list I have found less so in my experience. More so than any other field I have encountered the field of oriental rugs and its dealers is full of alliances and petty feuds. Do not use this book to price oriental rugs or to pick a dealer. There is no one simple "open sesame" to the world of oriental rugs.

Wow. The rug world is unreal, full of spite and petty jealousy.
Is this book the bible on rugs? No. Is it a concise, handy little guide for the novice? Yes. My biggest issue with the book is that over time (and fluctuating market conditions), it's pricing will eventually become outdated, but as long as Ms. Ware revises it every decade or so, who cares?
For the record, my copy of this book shows rug prices that are *gasp* nothing more than actual auction results from Sotheby's, Skinners, etc., so I don't understand the jab by one of the reviewers below? Perhaps this review was done without actually READING the book? Hmmm...
Ms. Ware has written a very enjoyable little book that my rug washing customers like to borrow. All who have done so have enjoyed it very much, most have gone out & purchased their own copy. Compared to some of the rug "encyclopedias", the cost is very low. I'm happy I bought this book, and I think you will like it as well.

Perhaps the best teaching about this book is the extent some of these people will go to sell you a rug. Consider the knowledge of a car salesman when you look at the long list of authorities who have shamelessly attached their name to this and think long and hard before you purchase. Much of what the car dealer tells you is valuable information but much of it is self serving as well. It would be wrong to say that this book is devoid of valuable information but it would also be erroneous to suggest that some humans are unlike the bottom feeders in the fish aquarium. I am not an expert but have read a few books. I hate to see people get burned and discouraged. Rugs are wonderful but the dealers are something less. Please don't let the fancy associations FOOL you.

Happy Hunting - just get out to as many shops as you can and feel the rugs and ask questions, but by all means don't trust everything the dealers suggest.