yonohomedesign.com Garden and Interior Design Ideas
Silk rugs are probably the most expensive thing you can purchase from anywhere. Turkey is a famous place for making silk rugs. It is probably most expensive in Turkey. The carpet people in Istanbul would sell a genuine silk carpet for a minimum of $15,000 USD, and that too would be a smaller size carpet.
But how to identify whether these silk rugs are real or artificial silk rugs? For that first know the difference between both.
Real Silk
Real silk is produced as the silky protective case of the silkworm, the pupa form of the mulberry or Asian silk moth. The silky protective case is spun by the silk moth caterpillar of a single silk-fiber.
Artificial Silk
Artificial silk doesn’t come from the cocoon of silkworm. This can include mercerized cotton, a manufactured fiber like rayon or it can be a blend of chemically manufactured fibers.
How to Identify Real Silk Rugs?
First you need to pay attention of what clues the dealer gives you. Dealers of silk rugs in India are seldom as tactful cautious as some of their Turkish counterparts. In India, artificial silk rugs are often glaringly sold as real silk, complete with written guarantees and certificates of authenticity. Since a long year Kashmir in Northern India has been the major place for both artificial and real silk. In Pakistan, we often see rugs have a silky touch, which means that there is an artificial silk inlay in their pile.
Test for Silk rugs
Rub it- It is often said that you can differentiate real silk from artificial silk by powerfully rubbing the pile with your palm. The real silk rug makes you feel warm, while the artificial silk rug stays cool while touching.
Burn it- Pull a knot out from back of the rug. Burn it. Smell the smoke and look at the ash. If it is artificial, the ash should be chalky and soft, and it should smell like a burning paper. If it is a real silk, the burning part should ball to a black, crispy ash, and should smell like a burning hair.
Dissolve it- At room temperature mix a solution of 16gms CuSO4 in 150cc water. Add 8gms glycerin->caustic-soda until a clear solution is obtained. This solution will leave rayon, cotton and nylon unchanged but will dissolve a little sample of real silk.
