Silk
Silk brings the sheen, the finest knots, and the highest pattern resolution to rug knotting. It is refined and fragile at once. This page separates real silk from its two most common imitations and shows when its use is worth it.
#Mulberry silk and wild silk
Mulberry silk comes from the cocoon of the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori). Before pupating, the caterpillar spins itself into a single thread that can reach up to 1,500 metres. With mulberry silk, the cocoons are scalded before the moth emerges, and the thread is reeled off in one length. This produces the finest, most uniform thread nature offers. Wild silk, often called tussah silk, comes from caterpillars of other moth species that cannot be raised in pure culture. Here the moth emerges, the cocoon tears, and the thread breaks into shorter pieces. Tussah silk is therefore coarser, less glossy, and slightly more rugged than mulberry silk. Both count as real silk. The historic centres of silk production in the oriental rug context are the Iranian province of Gilan, the Turkish region of Bursa, and Kashmir. These regions still supply the raw silk for high-quality knotted rugs from Hereke, Ghom, and Isfahan.
#Bamboo silk, viscose, and the imitation
Anyone who sees a "silk rug" in a furniture store at a fraction of a real silk price is almost always looking at bamboo silk or viscose. The term bamboo silk is a marketing label. It is viscose, a semi-synthetic fibre made from cellulose. With bamboo silk, the cellulose comes from bamboo stems; with classic viscose, from wood or cotton. Visually, the imitation comes close to real silk. It shines, feels cool to the touch, and takes dye well. In behaviour, however, it is quite different. Bamboo silk crushes permanently under furniture feet, creases visibly, does not tolerate moisture, and loses its sheen over time. Where a real silk rug still holds collector value after generations, a bamboo silk rug is replaced after a few years. The rule of thumb when you buy: in a real silk rug, the knots are visible individually on the back, the pattern shows there nearly as clearly as on the front, and the price for a fine piece rarely sits below several thousand euros per square metre. If any of that is missing, it is not real silk.
#Properties and the characteristic sheen
Silk is the finest of all natural textile fibres. A silk thread is around 30 times thinner than a wool thread, allowing knot densities of one million knots per square metre and beyond. This is what makes possible the filigree patterns with the highest pattern resolution for which Hereke and Ghom rugs are known. The characteristic sheen has a physical reason. The silk thread has a triangular cross-section and refracts light like a prism. Depending on the angle of view, a silk rug appears lighter or darker. This property is called shimmering in the trade, and it turns every step around the rug into a small change in the picture. What silk does not do well: carry heavy loads. Furniture feet leave permanent indentations. Water marks are nearly impossible to wash out. And although the fibre is strong in tension, it abrades faster at footfall points than wool.
#Where silk rugs belong
Silk does not suit every room. It needs surroundings that bring its sheen to life and respect its fragility. In a reception or formal area, on a gallery, or as a wall piece, it shows itself best. Bedrooms with little footfall also work. Very fine pieces from Hereke and Ghom are often collector or investment objects with documented provenance. They are walked on less and rotated more often than wool rugs, because the wrong treatment ages them quickly. A pragmatic middle ground is wool-and-silk blends. Here the wool carries the load while the silk lets individual pattern elements shine. Such blends are everyday-suitable in a living room and keep the characteristic alternation between matte and glossy areas.
#Care without regret
Silk does not tolerate wet cleaning. Water leaves rings that do not come out. Vacuum only with a soft attachment on the lowest setting, never with a brush or full suction. Lift stains gently with a dry, soft cloth. When in doubt, call a specialist before you damage the fibre beyond repair. Three further rules. First: do not put heavy furniture directly on a silk rug. Second: rotate more often than a wool rug, because sunlight ages silk unevenly. Third: professional cleaning is dry-only or done with special solvents and belongs in specialised hands, for instance with a cleaner who specialises in oriental rugs.
Keep reading
Materials for oriental rugs
Wool, silk, cotton, jute, and synthetic fibres. What sets each apart, what it suits, and how it feels.
ReadHow oriental rugs are made
How wool, silk, and natural dyes become a hand-knotted work of art — explained step by step.
ReadCare and cleaning
Vacuuming, stains, moth protection, storage: how to keep your rug beautiful for generations.
Read