Antique Turkish Oushak Carpet Restoration

We recently restored an exceptional antique Oushak carpet (ca. 1890).  You can see in the picture above that much of the pile had been worn by years of wear - and, I hope, enjoyment - of this magnificent carpet.  Below is the final result of the restoration.

This kind of restoration is hard to photograph as so much of the motif and design is exquisitely muted and delicate.  Look closely and you'll see that we reknotted the pile around the golden flower (the grey area) as well as the edges of the golden flower itself and other soft pinkish and golden areas in the background.  This kind of carpet restoration is very time consuming (especially if the original knotting is as tight and magnificent as it was with this antique Oushak), but I honestly can't think of a more rewarding experience for a restorer of antique textiles - just knowing that we can contribute to preserving something so beautiful that could potentially endure at least another century.   --www.traditionalrugrepair.com