Now that I have had it for a few months, I am ready to say that this is a lovely rug.  The colors are muted, which is what I wanted but they're very warm and much as represented in the photo.  It's nice and soft and thick and I have noticed none of the excess shedding that has been mentioned in negative comments about it.  As soon as I put it down, I gave it a good vacuuming and, with regular weekly cleaning, I have not noticed excess shedding at all.  I would highly  recommend it.