Tag: antique or vintage

Is my rug an antique or is it a vintage rug and what is the difference? The designation ‘antique’ is an actual legal term as specified by United States Customs Bureau which says that an item is considered an antique if it’s over 100 years old. Oftentimes and depending on other factors this is important because it can affect whether the item is subject to import duties at the time of the import into the country.

An antique is generally more valuable than a vintage rug. Vintage rugs are approaching the age of antique or approximately 75 years old or older thus woven prior to 1950.  An antique rug is often made with natural dyes and will often be a one-of-a-kind piece made in a small workshop or by tribal women using traditional designs and iconographies native to the region in which it was woven. As such these rugs oftentimes will have historic significance. Today a rug is considered an antique if it was woven in 1925 or earlier. When we started in the business the antique rug was woven around 1875. Many of our antique rugs are from this time period and are very desirable as they are now 150 years old. We also specialize in Peking Chinese rugs from c 1900. These are truly beautiful super antiques.

Vintage rugs, while they may still be valuable, especially if they are hand woven wool or silk rugs can be made with either natural or synthetic dyes. Their design elements often mock those of antique rugs or they may have a more modern look about them in keeping with the tastes of the consumers. These will often be program rugs and the same design can be used multiple times as they are reproduced in larger workshops. Some dealers may call rugs woven in the last half of the 20th century vintage but these are ‘used’ rugs and haven’t yet achieved the status of vintage or antique rugs.

To sum this up… antique rugs are older, often more expensive depending on their condition and they are the more collectible and resalable pieces. Vintage rugs often come at a lower cost and may be more readily available and may be found in very good condition. At Mosby Antique Oriental Rugs we specialize in antique rugs and 95% of our inventory IS antique. All of our antique and vintage rug selections are hand woven, hand knotted, and made of natural fibers be it wool, silk, sometimes metal or cotton and will never be machine made. They will all stand the test of time. These are high quality desirable carpets that will enhance your rooms for years to come.