Oriental carpets and rugs have long held a fascination for many people not simply the carpet cognoscenti. Perhaps it is the lure of the 'magic carpet' myth ably supported by the mystery inherent in the designs and textures - the rich vermilions and bright primary colours that reflect the folklore and spiritual life of the nomadic tribes who first weaved the pieces centuries ago. Decorated textiles have been found by archaeologists dating back to 1500 B.C. but it is the classical Oriental carpet and most specifically, the Persian carpets that excites the most passion in both collectors and dealers alike.

The artform began with the nomadic tribes of Asia for whom the weaving of rugs was a vehicle for the relay of their traditions. Each symbol was highly interpretive acting as a substitute for the written word. Tribes could be identified by a particular central symbol woven into the carpet which frequently depicted floral abstractions, figures of both humans and animals, but the nature of the nomadic tribes means that much of what can be deduced about the origins of the art is highly speculative, given that they did not keep written histories.

"The symbols and the designs are really pre-islamic I suppose and tend to have evolved from the animist cultures of central Asia". says Ross Lang, of Nomadic Rug Traders in Sydney. "They were very closely related to tribal insignias and totems particularly in Central Asia. Often the same design reappeared amongst totally different tribes spread right across Asia - the stylisation and composition may be markedly different by there is a sort of universality in the symbol. Rugs had a dual purpose originally, they were used as floor coverings or tent doors and also as a means of artistic expression. As they became more sophisticated, they came to be rather like the Scottish Tartans in that they were a means of tribal identification and in this way, the aspect of symbolism was very important. Islamic mysticism translated these qualities to their prayers rugs - perhaps the original magic carpet was a prayer rug, who knows?

"With the spread of Islam, prayer rugs then evolved almost as a cult or fashion item and became very important within the household, handled down from one generation to the next. There was a great deal of artistic license in terms of the drawing; the tip may point towards Mecca or shape may vary from rug to rug. They were certainly tied in with various religious movement but rather than the rugs having evolved from religion per se, religion tended to simply have influenced rug design at various times."

There is a certain ambience in the showrooms of an antique carpet dealer; an instant warmth imparted perhaps by the carpets and rugs themselves, a rich magic in the vibrant colours and designs that bedeck the walls and floors. It is a cosiness that is often lacking in the parquet floors and pristine spareness of the modern art gallery. The comfortable atmosphere is a reflection of the nature of the trade where personalised attention marks the relationship of the carpet dealer and the collector.

Strongly contrasting a new breed of corporate art dealer - officious young women and men who scout out potentially collectable paintings and works of art with which to impart artistic sensibility to the boardrooms and corridors of the powerful is the private dealer of original antique rugs and carpets. Men such as Ross Lang and Bruce Tozer of Melbourne are quite the 'Renaissance Men' in comparison, more concerned with sharing the histories of each of their exotic pieces and educating anyone who wishes to learn more about the ancient art that lies behind the romanticised notions of flying floor coverings and cutlass-wielding thieves of Baghdad. It is not a trade that can be taught in a formal discipline, by its nature it implies an overriding passion for the artform first and foremost and years of acquired experience and knowledge in the field, that generally begins in the larger European cities.

"I started in the field in 1972, when I first went to England like so many Australians did then," says Bruce, now a private dealer in Australia. "One of my first jobs was driving a lorry around Europe transporting art and antiques to various wealthy people in the South of France, Switzerland.... I had a good deal of free time on my hands and so I began to visit museums where I was struck simply by the colours in the rugs that I found in the various collections. I couldn't believe that such colours could be so vibrant after so many hundreds of years. I then began to work for David Black Oriental Carpets who were the foremost people dealing with tribal and village rugs at the time. The company is regarded universally as the first of the educators in the field, arranging public exhibitions and producing informative catalogues to accompany them.

"I was very fortunate in that I started at the top in this regard and even though I knew very little at first, it didn't take me that long to learn simply because I was fascinated with the field. Because I was working with the best people, I consequently dealt with best pieces in terms of tribal and village rugs from the nineteenth century. Part of my tasks, was to go to the many exhibitions and auctions that were on in London at the time, viewing them with the possibility of purchasing certain pieces. I found that by spending seven days a week, looking at perhaps 300-400 carpets, most were rubbish but when that one amazing piece came along it really hit one in the stomach. This is what helps to train the eye. Knowing a great piece comes from seeing other wonderful pieces: being aware of a piece from museums or publications that we know of and then suddenly, perhaps five years down the track, we may see a piece that is just as good as the one we knew about previously.

"Most of the dealers that I know and like are really like myself, they are not so concerned with making money because I don't think that one can make enormous amounts in this field. They are simply passionate about what they do and tend to buy which is not always financially acute as you might imagine. I may buy something that is absolutely shattered but that I love and it is difficult to relay that to someone who just wants a rug on the floor. Fortunately, I consider my job to be a paid hobby."

Ross Lang also came to carpets and rugs from another profession. Originally a school-teacher, he developed an interest in rugs from his extensive travels in the East. Whilst teaching English in Zurich, the opportunity arose to work part-time for a dealer, and what started as a necessity grew into a full time passion.

"Over time I grew to appreciate tribal rugs more and more: the traditions, the so-called social circumstances under which the pieces were made. When these elements are put into context, it becomes more than simply rugs, there is an aesthetic logic that is involved as well.

"It had always been my intention to return to Australia and it was also a question of wishing to establish my own business. There were less opportunities in Zurich in this area: Zurich tends to be one of those cities that requires one to be third generation before one can establish oneself. What I do is very specialised - I deal with the more esoteric end of the scale. It is what I concentrate on and what I wish to be known for.

"The dealers that I admire the most are the dealers that set about educating the public in the proper manner. Honesty is essential of course, and I think that it is one of the most important attributes in the business. We feel that it is important to keep up the momentum and as such we emphasise the educational and promotional side of the business. We stage three or four exhibitions each year which form the focal point of the business and it doesn't particularly matter to us whether or not we sell huge amounts at an exhibition as long as we show our very best. That doesn't necessarily mean the dearest because one must keep in touch with both ends of the market - we show pieces that people who don't have extremely deep pockets can afford. It is the people who are genuinely interested in rugs - not necessarily the very wealthy - that support you: they are the ones who spread the word.

"David Black had a vital educative role: the company did a great deal towards educating the public. They kept pieces simply in order to mount exhibitions and as such they popularised the academic view of rug-trading. Up until then, there had been very little academic knowledge - the mystery tended to be perpetuated because of the folkloric nature of the carpets. You had people who were absolutely euphoric over the faded effect of their rug when in actual fact, the piece was not that old, the dyes had simply faded due to the fact that they were synthetic."

In academically evaluating the designs of the original carpets, inspiration derived from nature is the prevalent one predating religious influence as we know it. The passage of time has meant that many of the designs are highly stylised and nigh on indecipherable as mentioned, so that speculation becomes the most common school of thought in terms of translating the original meanings. The various colours and central symbols, the tautness of the weave and the amount of fibres used, however, go a long way in determining the location and the actual tribe who created the rug.

"Most of the symbols that one finds come from nature," says Bruce Tozer. "There are many representations of flowers and floral symbols, although in many tribal rugs one finds people, birds, animals and other creatures, even dragons. There was one particular rug that I had several years ago and you could not count the amount of fauna represented - there were so many images. Often we look at the various symbols, designs, drawings and other aspects of the rug to determine the provenance. If one looks at Turkoman rugs, those made in Soviet-Central Asia, the main ornament depicted on their rugs or carpets was called the 'Gul' which is the Persian word for flower. From these Guls, of which there were ten or fifteen different types, one can actually associate a particular tribe with them: from the way in which the symbol was drawn and the types of colours used. We can determine from which tribe the rug came via the central guls and then there are minor guls and other symbols combined with the way in which they actually wove the carpet. Even though they may have used a selection of only three knots - with the exception of the Chinese who seemed to have invented knots purely to suit a particular design - identification depended on how taut the warps were, how many wefts (the east/west directional fibres that lock the knot into place) there were and how tight they had been pulled. Such procedures did not occur with all of the tribes and as such, you will find that when many carpet dealers are at an auction, they will kick the carpet over because we can often tell quite a lot more about the carpet from the back than from the front.

"Weaving was an integral part of the nomadic existence and as such the whole tribe was involved. The sheep were probably reared by the menfolk with the help of the young boys and they would also have done the shearing and the dyeing of the wool. The elder women would have done the spinning and the young girls did the weaving because of their more nimble fingers. They would probably have used the horizontal loom as opposed to the vertical loom because it was easily transportable. Stakes were simply hammered in to the ground and when it was time to move again, they took up the stakes and repeated the process at the new location.

"Most people do not realise that rugs carpets and weavings cover a very broad scope. Rugs and carpets were not simply something that was placed on the floor for purely utilitarian purposes. There were woven saddle bags and blankets that were draped over the camels, horses and later on, the bicycle. So many of the artifacts were woven and these pieces are also eminently collectable. There were woven bags on the tent walls and lying around on the floors to use as we would use cupboards for storage. They were often woven in a flat weave as opposed to the pile weave of a rug, but these are some of the exotic and interesting pieces that pop up every now and then that we look for. Some of the more elaborate pieces were used as dowries and when there was a special occasion, such as a wedding, the camels and the horses were highly-dressed in these pieces. Weaving were pieces that denoted value and respect and both tribal and family honour."

As civilisation developed, the art of weaving was disseminated throughout various levels of society from the exclusive use of the nomads to small scale cottage industry where certain of the rugs were made for sale, and then urbanised villages wherein a weaving hierarchy was established to cater for the needs of noblemen and kings and eventually for export. Towards the latter part of the nineteenth century, the trade became commercialised and began to be subject to the 'progress' that tends to mark industrialised intervention in the arts and crafts. The first of the synthetic dyes were know as commercially made rugs was transported to the 'human factories' that were established in parts of Persia to cater for the demand and that continue to exist today. Herein, lies the first of the integral as the dealer determines whether a rug was made 'under original conditions'.

"Essentially there are three different types of categories; some were made by the tribal peoples basically for their own use, another group, one could call the 'village rugs' were made in a cottage industry situation by village women who produced things for sale as well as for their own use and then there are the type of rugs that are known as urban or workshop carpets that were made as commissioned pieces exclusively for sale.

"One must apply different criteria to modern rugs than you would to older rugs because you are looking at pieces that were made under totally different circumstances, so the first criteria is to establish whether or not you are looking at modern manufacture or traditional circumstances," say Ross. "Dye is an important aspect because the quality of the original dues is very much different to that of the modern synthetic dyes. When we are looking at pieces made prior to the 1860s, they have been dyed with totally natural elements. Post 1860, the situation is much different. The early synthetic dyes had very poor colour fastness, the colours tended to fade very quickly in the sunlight. The second lot of synthetic dyes used toward the end of the nineteenth century had perhaps, good light fastness but very poor water fastness, so it is very important in this sense that the early carpets are well-dyed pieces using natural materials. Age is again another big factor: some examples will not be as old but will have been manufactured 'under the original conditions' and will be authentic, and the same works in reverse, the chronological age of the piece will be significant but its integrity may not be quite the same."

For Bruce Tozer, there is no question of choice when it comes to the distinction between the modern carpets which flood today's marketplace and its traditionally-woven ancestor. Apart from the obvious technicalities, lacking in the creation of the carpet, the one vital, albeit esoteric element that is missing can simply be classified as the soul of the piece and that of its creator.

"To me the carpets that are remarkable are the ones that have the natural colours, in that the dyes were natural from vegetable sources. They are far superior to the chemical ones: the colour is consistent throughout, from the surface to deep into the knot, to the back of the rug. They don't fade or run, instead, they mellow with age. This element, combined with the quality of the wool - the wool must be of good quality and spun well, is not considered in most of the new carpets. Handspun wool is not uniform in thickness and as a result it absorbs the dyes differently so that over a period of time when the carpets mellow, you have these wonderful streaky colour changes, known as 'abrash' within one particular colour and which is highly sought after.

"The people who deal in new carpets and dealers like myself are poles apart," Bruce says adamantly. "These new carpets are so far removed that anyone who has any understanding or knowledge at all can see the difference. They are handmade but they are made on human machines as far as I am concerned. wholesalers can actually go to these bonded warehouses in Iran and purchase say, 1 tonne of these, or 5 bales of those almost like buying stock lots of baked beans! My carpets are all two or three hundred years old and I certainly couldn't go and choose them in that manner. I look at maybe, fifty or one hundred pieces and buy perhaps three or four. As a collector, it is best to buy the best that one can afford or simply to purchase one very good piece from which you can build.

"There is nothing being made now of any quality. The new ones are all machine-spun wools or chemical and synthetic colours which are much faster now than the earlier dyes, but there is no soul in them, they are just dead. The original rugs were a reflection of the lifestyle and the spiritual life of the tribal people and that cannot be emulated in the conditions operative today. I doubt very much that the carpets being made today will be tomorrow's antiques - the designs are all ghastly, and in fact they will probably all wear out before they become antiques. With the exception perhaps of one project that is going on now in Turkey, where they are using handspun wools and natural dyes but to me, even their designs seem very much like copies of the ancient ones".

When did carpets become collectable? The story goes that Plato was an avid collector and according to Ross Lang, carpets were certainly collectable as early as that time. But of course, they are perishable items, albeit over a long period of time. Sigmund Freud was said to be so completely enamoured of antique rugs, that the world's most famous consulting rooms were completely bedecked in fine examples of the art.

"I believe that the real popularising of rugs occurred in the middle of the nineteenth century largely as a result of the rise of interest in the arts and crafts at this time," claims Ross. "Coupled with this, there was a general interest in all things Oriental with Persian rugs being a part of this. Following on, the potential in covering both American and European floors with carpets was realised and so the operations began to be organised somewhat more effectively. Possibly the Armenians acted as the middle men for the Persian Jews in marketing the merchandise with the organisation beginning in the major cities in Persia, Tabriz in the north being one of the first. Tabriz was the market place for goods that made their way via the Black Sea to Constantinople and Europe, so an organisation began there to make rugs for an export market. Feedback concerning European taste and fashion was taken into account and so things changed accordingly - of course this is not the traditional method - it is modern rugmaking as such. English companies began to establish offices in Southern Persia and to organise their own version of a cottage industry. At this stage, it was still geared towards a fairly elite market but there had been a confirmed market amongst the aristocracy dating back to the 16th century and probably earlier."

Todays collector of antique rugs and carpets has a very broad descriptive base. They may be as well known as Freud or simply someone who appreciates the legacy of the weaver's art. Some collector's adopt obsessions with just one facet - those obsessed with turkoman rugs are affectionately known as "Turkmanacs' and they may in fact know more about their particular obsession than the dealer who attempts to cover every aspect. What collectors do have in common is a unique desire to share the beauty of their acquisitions with others, a notion rather foreign to those who fiercely guard their private art collections.

"The collectable nature of rugs is perhaps a little like the notion of a work of art but of course, the price difference between carpets and paintings is another nought, perhaps more. No carpet has ever sold for UK25 million as did a Van Gogh." says Bruce. "I don't know whether I could define a collector by quantity, you may only have one or two pieces, but I have had people over the years who come into the gallery perhaps a dozen times a year simply because they are fascinated by the pieces they bought from time to time, upgrading as their tastes became more refined, but I think that the very fact that they are interested even though they may only posess three pieces, perhaps defines them as collectors. I feel that someone who also likes to share their pieces with other people is a collector and you will find that with a lot of rug people; they are so passionate about their rugs that they are pleased to talk with anyone who wishes to speak to them about it In fact, private collections are not restricted to those individuals concerned, anyone can go along and enjoy them and you could almost classify them as another type of collector - they are collectors of information or of the beauty of the rugs."

For the last thirteen years, International carpet conferences have been held in locations all around the world attracting dealers, collectors and interested parties of all descriptions from every locale, to meet and share information. Additionally, 'Hali' the international rug and carpet magazine for which Bruce is photographer, serves a vital role for the trade in spreading information about acquisitions, upcoming auctions and conferences. Both these arms of the trade have served to elevate interest in the field, so that the amount of collectors had increased dramatically over the last ten or fifteen years. It is interesting to note, that so far away from the concentration of activity, a sizeable percentage of attendees to the conferences, are from Australia.

"The carpet and rug dealer brotherhood has often been accused of perpetrating a clique that only accepted dealers can penetrate. Unlike an art auction, where private collectors are welcomed, the carpet and rug auction is largely the domain of the professional dealer. It may seem to people who do not understand that it is rather like a club of sorts, but it does not seem that way to me," continues Bruce.

"I deal with, sell to and buy from anyone but some people within the business in Europe tend to harbour certain prejudices. Most collectors do go through dealers even though at times, some may think that they can do without them. I haven't found that this is the case, however. The dealers are the ones putting the initial outlay into the auction piece and additionally, it is such a vast subject to learn that one general antique expert within an auction house couldn't possibly know all that much.

"Carpet auctions proceed considerably different to other auctions- I would estimate that 95% of the people attending are dealers, the other 5% could perhaps be private collectors or simply voyeurs: It is a very difficult place for a private person to bid. They have tended to try over the years but the have got their fingers burnt because it is just too difficult."

When judging the carpet, dealers tend to have their own set of criteria, the universal imperatives being of course; the original conditions of the weaving , the natural colours and dyes, the relative rarity of the piece and boldness of design. For Ross, the overriding consideration is the beauty of the piece.

"To me, the most overriding factor is the face of the carpet - the actual aesthetic qualities over and above everything else. They may not necessarily determine the price of the rug and those attributes that merit can be quantified by saying that; natural dyes play an important part, the quality of the dyes and materials the quality of the actual manufacture, they all ultimately determine the quality of the rug. I do not place that much emphasis on the technicalities of merit such as the fineness of the knotting - a piece can be technically very finely knotted and dead ugly, so effectively the rug is useless, but there are people who count the number of knots per square inch. So I suppose that one can't really look at any factor in isolation, you have that is the most important factor, if it is ugly, well nothing else matters.

"Essentially, I respond visually to a piece, that is the excitement, it has nothing to do with anything apart from what you feel about It: it is a totally emotional response initially, not intellectual at all.. The technicalities come into the judging next. Collectors do not collect things that are rare and ugly, they collect things that are rare and beautiful, but as a dealer, of course, the technical merits are important. Gut feeling tells you a great deal: everything maybe technically right but one may not derive an emotional response from the piece at all, so you don't buy it. What you have to do is gain a comparative understanding."

For Bruce, it is that one auction, when a piece suddenly appears that has perhaps been hiding in someone's attic for fifty years - one that was thought to have existed somewhere but had never been seen. Auction prices tend to bring pieces out of the woodwork for six months following a highly publicised sale, but of that number, only a very small percentage will be truly wonderful. The condition of the rug is a fairly important consideration but not paramount and concerning this, Bruce's attitude is a philosophical one. "When one is dealing with pieces of this age, then one or two hundred years down the road they have arrived as they are and, if it is a great piece, then condition is not that important. Many collectors, chase fragments of once large rugs or tent coverings and frame the piece, as I do. Of course, if a client wishes to put the rug on the floor, then wear and tear is a consideration. It is imperative that a customer listens to the advice of the dealer when deciding where to put the rug. Generally, there is a not a problem in laying the rug in the hall or lounge room provided that certain guidelines are strictly adhered to. If a piece is going in the hall, one moves it around 180 degrees every so often and moves it along a foot or so every few months to ensure even distribution of wear. A good underfelt is also important.

"After all, we really are only the guardians of these pieces and it is up to us to keep them in the condition that we now find them, in order that they can be passed down to future generations in much the same way as they were originally."