In the oriental countries, a rug is often valued for its colors.
The colors communicate a feeling and are also used to enhance the designs and motifs presented on a Persian carpet.
The colors added play an important role in distinguishing certain features, and also the history and lineage of the rug.
Different tribes created rugs that could be differentiated by the shades and colors used.
Synthetic dyes were only introduced to rug makers in the 1860s.
All the older oriental rugs were colored using dyes derived from plants, insects and even minerals.
To the people of the east, each color has a specific and traditional meaning.
Here are some of the meanings of colors used in Persian carpets: White: purity, peace and the color of mourning too Brown: fertility and good harvest Black: destruction Gold: wealth and power Red: joy and happiness Dark blue: authority, power, solitude These are the basic ideas on the symbolism of colors, although it is not definitive at all.
Some rug weaving nations will interpret the colors differently, and the interpretation may even change from one side of a country to the other.
As a general rule, all old oriental rugs will need protection from light because the different natural dyes that were derived from plants and insects fade over time.
It is interesting to note that the mellow shades of the highly regarded antique rugs in the West often looked completely different when they were first made.
The only proof of this is rugs that were stored carefully in the dark for many centuries.
The colors are bright and rich.
When approaching cleaning your Persian rug it is important to take into regard the age before anything else.
If your rug is an antique and a plant or insect dye was used to color it then the water could cause the colors to run.
The type of material used can be a big factor in the color-fastness especially as dyed silk tends to run more readily than wool containing the same natural dye.
Before deciding to wash your rug you should do a test of the color fastness.
Most old oriental rugs that were dyed with plant and insect dyes can be quite resilient to water.
There are exceptions though, depending on the material and the method in which the rug was originally dyed.
More modern synthetic dyes are much more stable, but to err on the side of caution a color fastness test should always be executed.
Red dyes are the most likely to bleed, but some blues should be considered with caution too.
Care must be taken with pure white shades, as drying them in the sun could cause discoloration.
These pure white shades are often made from the natural sheeps wool with no dye added, although sometimes these white shades are made from cotton.
The cotton white shades will not discolor in the sun as the sheeps wool might.
In most cases it is probably safest to have your rug washed and maintained by a professional oriental carpet cleaner.
They will have the equipment to clean your rug properly and will also be able to conduct careful color fastness tests.