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Anyone who buys Persian and related rugs as investment is silly, I think. Same for the average antique. This old stuff is out now, not sure if that market will ever bounce back in my lifetime. I love good rugs but cannot have them all over because our dogs would just pee on them and the cats would vomit on them. By "good" I mean hand knotted, or course, with artisan design. I like rugs with some age on them. These are 'most always old. I used to study rugs by going to auctions, sit in the front row and make notes. I did this for hours. I learned a little, bought a few very cheap and worn rugs on Ebay, bought one for a few hundred. Of all of the people I know who have rugs I've got only one friend who has what I consider "good" rugs.
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Well, I think everyone has almost talked me out of this idea, at least for the time being. Maybe I've been watching too much Antiques Roadshow. I think the best point is that a person would be buying probably at retail and then selling at consignment or wholesale price. I may watch for a few things of interest first for having them around to appreciate. The up side is that, unlike a lot of home decor, they will probably at least have some recoverable value.
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I have some "serious" art - vintage Japanese woodblock prints, paintings by now-known-artists, Arctic and NW Coast native art, pottery and textiles from the SW native peoples, Craftsman-era pottery and metalwork, and so on.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z...Awesomized.jpg
I collected each bit of it because the piece, at the time I acquired it, really spoke to me, and had a place in my home. I didn't think about the investment value at all. Some of it has greatly appreciated, but I don't count these bits of craft and art as "investments".
I mean, who knew this guy would ever take off?
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6...Awesomized.jpg
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I agree with bae. There is a story about a great museum curator who told some collectors fretting about a purchase--"Buy it because it sings to you, and you can afford it. The pleasure you get out of living with it is your reward. If it goes up in value, great! If it goes down...well, the money's been spent." Also, the great collectors I know do it because they love the stuff, and the very large amount of time it takes to get to know a field well enough to identify quality and talent (reading books, looking at catalogues, visiting galleries and dealers, etc.) is part of the fun. I think just trying to collect as an investment would be more like work and as several have pointed out, no guaranteed returns...
