As part of the withdrawal, U.S. dealers will once again be banned from importing these richly colored and patterned rugs from Iran.

While Persian rug making has existed in Iran for millennia, the art became what it’s known for today during the Safavid Dynasty in the 16 th century, whose capital was Isfahan.

The Quest for a Perfect Persian Rug A Persian rug lasts a lifetime but it’s not just a piece to cover the floor—it’s a work of art By Fareed Sahloul Updated Dec. 18, 2014 7:49 pm ET Share ...

Winitz, of Oakland, Cal., has written, ”The Guide to Purchasing an Oriental Rug” (Breema Rug Society, $9.95), and he`s taught courses on Oriental rugs through the University of California.

Gut check: Rug dealers know you can’t buy a rug without seeing it in your home, and they will happily load it in your car. Put it down, see if it works and, most important, make sure you love it.

A real Persian rug, one from Iran, of the same size would range from $15,000 to more than $20,000. Antique rugs, those more than 75 years old, are even more challenging to judge and buy.

"It's like the golden age of Oriental rug-making," says Emmett Eiland, a widely respected dealer who opened shop in Berkeley 32 years ago. In the beginning, "we sold nothing but antique rugs ...

Among his favorite pieces is a 9-foot ivory rug commissioned by Iran’s Ministry of Culture in the 1930s to honor the Persian poet Ferdowsi, whose poem “Shahnameh,” or “Book of Kings,” is ...

He is a thirty-something, U.S. born, third-generation rug dealer who grew up among the stacks of rugs at his family’s rug store at Persian Rug Gallery, 159 E. Silver Spring Drive in Whitefish Bay.