The whole life of a rug
One rug. Forty years. Eight moments where somebody has to know what they are doing.
It arrives, and it gets photographed
A rug comes off a loom in Qum or Lahore and reaches a showroom floor. If it is photographed badly it sits there. Loom and Light exists because of this single fact.
Somebody has to prove what it is
Machine made sold as hand knotted, and synthetic sold as silk, are common enough that careful buyers avoid the category. Fiber testing and knot counting is what brings them back.
It sells, or it does not
If it sells locally, good. If it sits for three years it is dead capital, and it needs a national buyer pool. That is Rug Vault, or Warp and Weft if you would rather we handled the whole sale.
It gets walked on
Then washed, roughly every three to five years. Wool tolerates it. Silk does not tolerate the same treatment, and the difference is where most damage happens.
Something goes wrong
A dog, a flood, a moth, a corner that lifted and frayed. Fringe and selvedge work is routine. Reweaving is not, and it is worth doing on the right piece.
It needs a number on paper
Insurance schedules, probate, divorce, donation, a damage claim. An appraisal states value as of the date of inspection, which is a different document from a certificate of construction.
It needs somewhere to live
Rolled on a tube in climate control, not folded in a storage unit in July. Folding a dry antique foundation is how you turn a repairable rug into a ruined one.
It sells again
And the next owner asks all the same questions. Which is why we kept the records.