How do I hang a rug?
I get quite a few questions but one of the most frequently asked is how do I hang a rug.
I know some dealers who just tack them up with a staple gun. Not recommended it is to easy to damage the foundation it also does not distribute weight well unless you use a lot of staples which increases risk of damage. Same applies for tacks, nails, etc…. Another point is that particularly in humid area many metals can cause long-term damage. It is not unusual to find holes on circa 1930s rugs where a tag was stapled on. When the staples rust they turn the wool brittle.
Remember when all the antique rugs were coming out of the Former Soviet Union in Full pile. Many of them had bites out of the edges where clips or loops caused damage from hang for years.
One older way that works OK is curtain rings sewn onto a cloth backing. The trick is the broader an area that it is attached the less potential for damage. This also goes for the bands where a cloth strip is sewn on and a rod goes through.
One very attractive method is to have the bag sewn on a canvas backing. this is great for fragments, silk, very old, or any piece that you need to take special care for. To the dealer keep in mind that to many collectors the backing makes the piece look special.
Museums are turning to hook and pile stripes (Velcro). putting a strip of three or 4 inch Velcro across the back of a rug makes it easy to hand and disperses weight well. Three or 4 inch hook and pile stripes can be gotten through sewing or outdoors shops.
One of the nicest ways to display a bag is to get a sheet of foam and cover it with a cloth that looks good with the bag. Then you pin the bag to the cloth covered foam. One of the top collectors in the Washington DC area displays his collection on foam and it looks great.