A true Bokhara rug will have a soft, thick pile which gives them a luxurious feel and this together with their attractive colours and lovely sheen make them an ideal choice for most homes.
There’s a classic look to all FrithRugs Bokhara rugs, which means you can be sure any purchase will add a touch of elegance to your home.
The Pakistani Bokhara is a term used to describe a modern Tekke-faced rug. Tekke was a tribe from Bokhara in Pakistan and these specific designs are popular across the carpet making region with the recognisable pattern being a firm favourite for decades. More recently, in the 1950s the Bokhara design has been made in Lahore and its surrounds.
Bokhara rugs may also be known as Pakistani rugs or Mori Bokhara rugs and are famous for their small, repetitive geometric designs featuring rows of guls. The rugs have a cotton base and use a single knot in an instantly recognisable design.
There are numerous retailers that sell Bokhara rugs – however, you should know what to look out for when it comes to deciding on its quality.
If you are looking at images online, the rugs may look the same or very similar, but you will only know a true Bokhara by the quality of the wool, the thickness of the rug and the wool density. When looking at an image, it’s obviously impossible to tell if you are looking at a high quality Bokhara or a cheap version, but here are a few tips to help you establish the quality of the Bokhara rug..
1. Check the reverse. If you look at the reverse of a rug and you can see lots of white, this is a sign that the wool has not been tightly knotted and so the backing is showing. The workmanship used will not be skilled and the quality has been reduced to offer at a cheaper price.
2. Skill of weavers. You can also see that the weaving is not very neat, this again suggests the rug has not been made by skilled weavers. The back of the rug should be neat and in clear defined rows not wobbly. If you are interested in rug provenance this is important. As one of the UKs biggest importer of rugs and carpets, FrithRugs is keen to ensure that the products we sell have been produced to the highest standards and without exploitation.
We import directly from the manufacturer and insist that manufacturers conform to strict ethical policies which include the criteria than no child or slave labour is used in the production of rugs and carpets. We also make unannounced and random visits to carpet looms and weaving areas on a regular basis to ensure that our policies are enforced.
As a company with major purchasing power we set out and adhere to our own stringent polices which we can police and enforce and we insist on our own labels which meet our own exacting standards.
3. Rug thickness. If you put a Quality Bokhara next to a cheap version you will immediately see the difference in terms of rug thickness. This is due to the quality of the wool used, density of the knots and the length of the pile. In a typical Bokhara from FrithRugs there are 800 knots per meter. (Along the width). Around 30% more than the lower quality versions. You should be able to count the knots on a close-up image and finally the longer the pile the more wool that is used and the better the quality. The difference can mean that in a regular 8 x 5 size the total knots can vary from around 490,000 knots per sq meter to 640,000 knots per sq meter. Having only the lower amount of knots will mean a much reduced production time and much less quality.
7 knots per 1cm
8 knots per 1cm
In order to be totally sure in your purchase you need to talk to FrithRugs. The FrithRugs name is synonymous with traditional rugs and our Bokhara rug collections offer Pakistani rugs that fit well within most interior design schemes, especially if you are searching for a particularly decorative focal piece.
FrithRugs offer both traditional heavily designed Bokhara rugs as well as the plain Bokhara range. The latter provides an interesting twist on the traditional Bokhara design, featuring a central colour and then an intricate design around it.
FrithRugs means genuine rugs
It’s no surprise that our Pakistan Bokhara rugs are a long-time favourite and have been a consistent best seller. Their design means they sit well in a variety of decors and thanks to the 100% wool pile, their silky finish, makes them feel as good as they look.
A Bokhara rug is hand knotted which makes each one unique. Our clients like the fact they are buying a one off – the background colour, the motifs, and auxiliary colours will all vary, but will be based around the same design theme. If you would like to see how the design looks in the size required then please enquire by email asking for images to be sent of the exact colour and size required. Please note that if you are trying to match these rugs up identically to others purchase previously, this is not normally possible due to the Cottage Industry ways these are made, and they are not manufactured to be exact copies of each other.
