Atlas Rug Guide publishes general education, buying guides, and styling advice about Moroccan rugs. It is written for a general reader, about categories of rug — not about the particular rug in front of you, and not about your particular circumstances. Please read it that way.
This site does not appraise or authenticate rugs
Atlas Rug Guide is not an appraiser, not a valuer, and not an authentication service. Nothing on this site is an appraisal, a valuation, a certificate of origin, or an opinion on any individual rug.
Origin, age, and authenticity in Moroccan rugs are not settled at a distance. They are judged by handling the thing — the wool, the dyes, the knotting, the foundation, the back, the way it has worn — by people who do it often. A photograph will not do it. A listing description certainly will not do it. Neither will a web guide, including this one.
Before a purchase you could not afford to get wrong, and before insuring a rug, get an independent opinion from a qualified rug or textile appraiser who has no stake in the sale. An appraiser recommended and paid for by the seller is not independent. Professional appraisal associations in most countries publish directories of accredited members; that is the place to start.
Prices and market information
Any price figures on this site are general ranges, tied to the date given, and offered to help you recognise when a number is wildly out of line — not to tell you what a specific rug is worth. Moroccan rug prices vary enormously with size, age, condition, region, the quality of the wool and the dyes, and where in the chain you are buying. No guide here can value your rug, and none tries to.
Nothing on this site is investment or financial advice. Rugs are not presented here as an investment, and no claim is made or implied that any rug will hold or increase in value.
Care, cleaning, and repair
Care advice on this site is general. Old wool, natural dyes, and hand-knotted foundations are unforgiving, and the wrong intervention is usually permanent.
- Dye bleed, shrinkage, fibre damage, and a wrecked foundation are ordinary outcomes of ordinary household cleaning methods used on the wrong rug.
- For a rug that is old, valuable, fragile, or sentimental, use a specialist rug cleaner or a textile conservator — not a general carpet-cleaning service, and not a remedy from the internet, this site included.
- Test anything on a hidden area first, and accept that a test is not a guarantee.
- Structural repair and reweaving are specialist crafts. Amateur repairs routinely cost more to undo than the original damage would have cost to fix properly.
Sellers and third parties
Where this site names or links to a seller, dealer, marketplace, or service, that is not a guarantee of them. Businesses change hands and standards slip. Do your own checks before you send anyone money, and use a payment method that gives you some recourse if it goes wrong.
Links to other websites are offered for reference. Atlas Rug Guide has no control over those sites and is not responsible for their content, their accuracy, or their conduct.
Use of this information
Everything here is offered in good faith and to the standards set out in the Editorial Policy, but it is offered without warranty of any kind. Decisions you take about buying, selling, cleaning, repairing, or insuring a rug are yours, and Atlas Rug Guide does not accept liability for them.
If something on this site is wrong, please say so — the Contact page explains how, and errors get corrected.