The focus of this broad category can be reduced to a number of basic questions. What are the possible motivations on a societal level for the Western interest in oriental carpets? In light of these possible motivations, to what extent do these ideas manifest themselves on an everyday level with those collectors, aficionados, dealers, auction houses and curators who are actively involved with oriental carpets? If, indeed, there is a difference between their perceived activities and the theoretical explanation of their practices, what do these individuals believe that they are in fact doing? Finally, is there something going on at the popular level that the theorists have failed to account for in regards to rug culture?
Within the academic literature there is a strong body of work that attempts to explain the Western fascination with the East. Three key ideas regarding this can be found in the works of Edward Said's Orientalism, Leonard M. Helfgott's Ties that Bind, and Brian Spooner's essay "Weaver and Dealers: the authenticity of a Oriental Carpet." In all three of these works, various ideas are presented both in and outside of the context of the rug trade which offer explanations for the Western interest in the oriental carpet. Summarised briefly, each other identifies a central motivation behind the Western fascination with the oriental carpet. For Said, carpet collection and appreciation would stand as yet another example of the Western motivation to dominate Eastern society and to claim ownership of its material culture on the basis that its original creators were incapable of the knowledge or moral values necessary to maintain their own heritage. Sharing this idea of of a desire to repress and exploit "alien" cultures, Helfgott also idetified a set of aesthetic and nostalgic desires that are central to the Western interest in the oriental carpet. Stemming out of the historical rejection of the Industrial Revolution and its move towards mass produced goods, Westerners sought a return to "hand made over machine made objects." Reinforced by the Arts and Crafts movement and the work of such individuals as William Morris, oriental carpets and their acquisition took on the symbolic significance of an attempt at overcoming the "disenchantment with Western life under capitalism. A life increasingly perceived as devoid of sentiment, sensuality, value, meaningful work and wholesome human relations."Finally, for Brian Spooner, oriental carpet acquisition stems out of a desire for personal and social authenticity. On a societal level, by placing objects such as oriental in a historical context or within the confines of an "authentic past," an individual is able to both ground her own sense of societal belonging and to express her own personal outlook. As Spooner identifies, "oriental carpets...are used to negotiate not just relative social status, but quality of personality, or how one should be understood and appreciated as an individual by others."
Given this very brief overview of three possible explanations for the Western fascination with the oriental carpet, a large number of questions arise. Namely, to what extent is the orientalised conception of the "East" reflected in the attitudes of dealers, collectors, curators and others at the popular level? Is the carpet industry, with its celebration of the Persian carpet as the best of its kind, really a reflection of an attempt to dominate a foreign culture? Is the move towards the collection of new objects such as Gabbehs simply an attempt to reinforce notions of the "primitive" East? Is this same desire for hand made goods currently one of the overarching motivations behind those active in carpet culture? To what extent is a perception of a disenchantment with our own age and our intrigue with the "exotic" the driving force behind moves towards the acquisition of carpets such as Gabbehs? Have these motivations that Helfgott identifies as a response to the industrial revolution changed historically? Is this nostalgia for a history or a sense of self sought through object acquisition evident at the popular level? Is the search for authenticity in the oriental carpet indicative of a general belief that society is unable to supply us with foundations or a sense of belonging? Is the seeking of an authentic past through objects, regardless of their cultural origins, a response to this condition? Finally, is the move towards the acquisition of domestic goods such as Gabbehs simply a search for that which seems most authentic?