Meeting
Announcement:
Oriental Carpet Fakes, Forgeries and Frauds – and How to
Spot Them
with
A Visiting Expert from Turkey
at
Pioneer Hall
1642 43rd Avenue East , Seattle
In
the Madison Park neighborhood
Tuesday, February 6, 2007, 7:00 PM
Simple economic theory
tells us that, when demand rises for a commodity with a fixed supply, prices
will rise. This has certainly been the case
in the market for antique rugs over the past several years, where collector
demand has driven the prices of even fragmentary rugs higher and higher. In response to these escalating prices, the
market has responded in two ways. First,
we have seen the introduction of lines of new hand-woven, naturally-dyed
carpets with motifs inspired by old designs.
Reputable manufacturers such as Woven Legends and the DOBAG Cooperative
clearly label their rugs as new and position them to homeowners wanting
beautiful carpets for their home.
However, the strong
market in antiques and fragments has also encouraged an industry devoted to
creating fakes and forgeries. These
pieces are made to deceive, often using wool from old carpets to weave from
scratch something that looks ancient.
“Wear” is introduced through intentional abrasion, buffing and
clipping. Patches that appear to be
early 20th century “repairs”, with harsh dyes, can be put in to
indicate that the carpet was well-worn, and badly repaired, long ago. Designs are copied from books or from pieces
in museum collections, and carefully executed to ensure consistency with known
antique examples. Even experts can be
fooled by these careful fakes. Our
visiting expert will tell us about these techniques, and how to detect
them. He will not only show slides, but
he will also bring examples of some fakes and forgeries for us to see.
Speaker
Biography: Our
visiting expert is an enthusiastic promoter of the appreciation of oriental
rugs and textiles. He has been in the carpet business for many years in
Meeting
Schedule:
7:00 Mix and mingle. Announcements.
7:30 A Visiting Expert from
8:30 Show and tell – Bring anything you’d like, but bring a fake if you think you might have one!
Please
note: This meeting is free to members,
$5 at the door for guests.
Meeting
Location and Directions:
Pioneer
Hall is the home of the Pioneer Association of the State of
From
I-5 or 405, take 520 toward the
Go
straight through the light, following the main road until you take a right into
the Arboretum.
Go
through the Arboretum, turning left at the light, at
