Posted by Yon Bard on March 15, 1999 at 08:44:57:
Steve, while I agree with all the reasons you have listed for choosing pieces to acquire, there are a couple of others that I can think of, namely:
6. Novelty - a piece may be interesting because it is different or quirky, and can make a desirable (at least to me and some other collectors I know) acquisition even if it is not first-calss esthetically.
7. Completeness - collecting, in its most basic form, is about acquiring a complete set of objects in the class that one is collecting, e.g., postage stamps, coins, etc. Applied to rug collecting this might manifest itself, say, in attempting to acquire one of each type of weaving (chuval, ensi,...) from each Turkoman tribe. While not actively pursuing such a course, all other things being equal I would rather acquire an object of a type that I do not have rather than another example of one that I do have.
Regards, Yon