Services Offered by Main Street Oriental Rugs

| World of Rugs | Cleaning and Repairs | Testimonials |

World of Rugs:

Whereas the expression “Oriental rug” or “Oriental carpet” only came into use during the mid to late 19th century, the history of rug making in the Orient dates back five thousand years to the Bronze Age (2000-3500 BC).  The oldest enact pile rug, known as the Pazyryk carpet, was discovered in the Pazyryk Valley of the Altai Mountain, Siberia, in 1949 by a group of Russian archeologists.  Displaying a mixture of motifs, the Pazyryk carpet was woven sometime around 300 BC. The first Oriental rugs came to Europe with the Moorish invasion of Spain in AD 711.  In 1271 the famous Venetian explorer Marco Polo was one of the first to use the term ‘carpet’ in his descriptions of the beautiful floor-throws he encountered in Anatolia (a part of modern day Turkey).  Ever since their arrival in Europe, Oriental rugs have been a symbol of wealth, status, and discriminating taste.  As Turkish and Persian rugs entered into the estates of the European elite, famous artists like Hans Holbein began to immortalize many of these exquisite rugs in their paintings, and in 1547 a new order of knights, the Knights of the Carpet, was founded (named after the rugs upon which these knights knelt before their sovereign). Today, the artisans who make these wondrous pieces find their works on display in many different ways.  The modern consumer still puts them on the floor, but now entire rooms or homes can be built around a single carpet.  Some people display the pieces, as you would artwork, by hanging them on a wall or in cases or sleeves.  There are even instances of using Oriental rugs as welcome mats for the home or floor mats for cars.  However you plan to use your rug, always be sure that it’s something that you like because it’s going to be with you for a very, very long time.

Cleaning and Repairs:
Fine oriental rugs, like heirloom quality antiques in general, can be preserved and passed down from generation to generation with a little expert care.  From mat to palace size, our cleaning and restoration services can bring out the hidden beauty of soiled rugs as well as re-pile worn areas of rugs with high traffic without sacrificing any of the elegance.

Home & Design Magazine - 2000
Mojan Bagha Of Main Street Oriental Rugs in Ellicott City says, "The rugs, we have hand picked. It's like when you go to pick cherries. You only pick the ones that are ripe. We have traveled around the world and have picked the best. Because Ellicott City is known as a place where everyone comes to shop for antiques, we specialize in more collectible and very fine oriental rugs, anything from 2' by 3' to palace sizes. We import directly from India, China and Pakistan." And the company offers full service: cleaning and re-pairing fine rugs.
In addition, the company will buy older rugs in need of repair and "bring them back to life." Mr. Bagha points out that older oriental rugs tend to be more valuable. However, "a repaired rug will not hold the value, but it still has a certain value."

"We tell our customers; besides knowing where the rug is from, how it is made, what kind of dye was used, they should consider three very important factors when they buy a rug: First, which is more important than others, is, they have to like it. Second, they have to like it. Third, they have to like it," says Mojan Bagha.

Main Street Oriental Rugs doesn't use chemicals when cleaning the rugs. Mr. Bagha has found that many times when an old rug is cleaned, colors are revealed that hadn't been apparent before. They vacuum them thoroughly, rotating them back and forth. Each rug is tested to be sure the color doesn't run before it is shampooed by hand with natural soap and water
"Our customers are very inquisitive but they are looking for a certain color. They are looking for something to go with their decor," he says. "They look for one thing and buy another. They fall in love with the rug." Mr. Bagha points out that each rug has a different character. As each is different, they can't match but they can coordinate.

"Sometimes when you clean the rugs, the end of a knot appears. So we make sure the rug is not only cleaned but repaired to bring it back to life," explains Mr. Bagha. The process takes two to three days. "The process is very simple but it is labor-intensive. "The lady who repairs the rugs doesn't work on the premises. It is all done by hand and is hard on the eyes. It is not something she can do for eight hours," he explains. This highly skilled person was trained in Iran. She repairs small rugs in her home, where she works on them off and on during the day. For the larger rugs, she has space in the warehouse where the rugs are cleaned.

Many of these rugs have been damaged by water, perhaps from an over-watered plant or plumbing accident.
"We like to use the words, 'sing together in harmony." So mix them as long as they "sing in harmony."

He talks of one of his favorite styles of rugs, one that is also very popular with designers, the Heriz, a Persian rug. "We call most of these geometric rugs, tribal rugs. Most of the floral motifs were influenced by the Europeans. They influenced the rug making in Persia. But most of the newer designs that come out tend to be tribal designs. They have more character and more life to them. It's a rug that is made by an artisan, not someone who is interested in making it for the taste of someone else. Rugs are more like art. They are functional; they are floor coverings, but at the same time, each one is different. They have spirit. Each one is made by someone who put their spirit, their energy into the rug."