The passion for antiques in this country has in the past been so strong that rugs showing signs of hard wear, with ragged edges and plenty of holes, were quite as salable as those which were perfect in every respect and the amateur collector of so-called "antiques" was usually an easy victim. Of late, however, the antique craze seems to be dying out and the average buyer of to-day will select a perfect modern fabric in preference to an imperfect antique one.

There is no question that age is an important factor in the beauty of a rug and that an antique in a state of good preservation is much more valuable than a modern fabric, especially to the collector, to whom the latter has little value. In order to be classed as an antique a rug should be at least fifty years old, having been made before the introduction of aniline dyes. An expert can determine the age by the method of weaving, the material used, the color combination, and the design, with more certainty than can the art connoisseur tell the age of certain European pictures, to which he assigns dates by their peculiarities in style. Every time a design is copied it undergoes some slight change until, perhaps, the original design is lost. This modification of designs also affords great assistance in determining their age. In the Tiffany studios in New York City can be seen a series of Feraghan rugs showing the change in design for several generations.

As a rule more knowledge concerning the age of a rug can be obtained from the colors and the materials employed than from the designs. An antique appears light and glossy when the nap runs from you, whereas it will appear dark and rich but without lustre when viewed from the other end. Such rugs are usually more or less shiny on the back and their edges are either somewhat ragged or have been overcast anew.

With the exception of a few rare old pieces which may be found in the palaces of rulers and certain noblemen, the Orient has been pretty well stripped of its antiques. Mr. Charles Quill Jones, who has made three trips through the Orient in search of old rugs, reports that region nearly bare of gems. During his last sojourn in those parts he has succeeded in collecting a considerable number of valuable pieces, but his success may be attributed to the poverty and disruption of households occasioned by the losses of the recent revolution in Persia. As especially rare he writes of having secured five pieces which were made during the reign of Shah Abbas in the 16th century. In England, France, Germany, Russia, Austria, Poland, and especially Bavaria, there are many fine old pieces, those of London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Budapest being particularly noteworthy. The Rothschild collection in Paris contains many matchless pieces and the Ardebil Mosque carpet, which is in the South Kensington Museum, London, is without doubt the most famous piece of weaving in the world. According to the inscription upon it, it was woven by Maksoud, the slave of the Holy Place of Kashan, in 1536. It measures thirty-four feet by seventeen feet six inches and contains 32,000,000 knots. No doubt there are more good genuine antiques in Europe and America than in the entire Orient. They are to be found, as a rule, in museums and in private collections. A number of really old and very valuable pieces may be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in New York City. The Yerkes collection of Oriental rugs, which has recently been disposed of at public sale by the American Art Galleries, contained nothing but Polish fabrics and Persian carpets of royal origin, made at some early date prior to the seventeenth century. Some of the most prominent collectors of the United States are Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan of New York City, who has one of the most valuable collections in the world; Mr. H. C. Frick of Pittsburg, Pa., Miss A. L. Pease of Hartford, Conn., Mr. C. F. Williams of Morristown, Pa., the Hon. W. A. Clark and Mr. Benjamin Altman of New York City, Mr. Theodore M. Davis of Newport, R. I., Mr. Frank Loftus, Mr. F. A. Turner and Mr. L. A. Shortell of Boston; Mr. J. F. Ballard of St. Louis and Mr. P. A. B. Widener of Elkins Park, Pa. The late Ex-Governor Ames of Massachusetts was an enthusiastic collector and possessed many fine pieces.

The late A. T. Sinclair of Allston, Mass., possessed over one hundred and fifty antiques, which he himself collected over twenty years ago from the various districts of Persia, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Turkestan, and Beluchistan. Many of these pieces are from one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty years old and every one is a gem.

With the exception of an occasional old Ghiordes, Kulah, Bergama or Mosul, for which are asked fabulous prices, few antiques can now be found for sale. It is on account of the enormous prices which antiques bring that faked antiques have found their way into the market. Rugs may be artificially aged but never without detriment to them. The aging process is mostly done by cunning adepts in Persia or Constantinople before they are exported, although in recent years the doctoring process has been practised to quite an extent in the United States, and a large portion of the undoctored rugs which reach these shores are soon afterwards put through this process. The majority of dealers will tell you that there is comparatively little sale for the undoctored pieces. The chemically subdued tones and artificial sheen appeal to most people who know little about Oriental rugs.

For toning down the bright colors they use chloride of lime, oxalic acid or lemon juice; for giving them an old appearance they use coffee grounds, and for the creation of an artificial sheen or lustre the rugs are usually run between hot rollers after the application of glycerine or paraffin wax; they are sometimes buried in the ground for a time, and water color paints are frequently used to restore the color in spots where the acid has acted too vigorously. Such rugs usually show a slight tinge of pink in the white.

There is a class of modern rugs of good quality, good material, and vegetable dyed, but with colors too bright for Occidental taste. Such rugs are sometimes treated with water, acid, and alkali. The effect of the acid is here neutralized by the alkali in such a way that the colors are rendered more subdued and mellow in tone without resulting injury to the material.

What the trade speaks of as a "washed" rug is not necessarily a "doctored" one. There is a legitimate form of washing which is really a finishing process and which does not injure the fabric. It merely washes out the surplus color and sets the rest. The belief that only aniline dyes will rub off when wet and that vegetable ones will not do so is erroneous. If a rug is new and never has been washed the case is quite the opposite. For the reader's own satisfaction, let him moisten and rub a piece of domestic carpet. He will find that the aniline of the latter fabric is comparatively fast, whereas, in a newly made vegetable dyed Oriental, certain colors, especially the blues, reds and greens, will wipe off to a certain extent. After this first washing out, however, nothing other than a chemical will disturb the vegetable color.