Oriental Rugs of the Silk Route: Culture, Process, and Selection
John B. Gregoriangrew up amidst oriental rugs imported by his  father, a refugee from Persia who, in 1934, founded what is now one of  America's oldest and largest rug companies, Arthur T. Gregorian, Inc., in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts. By age 17, he was already traveling to Middle Eastern bazaars, learning the rug-buying strategies from his father that he would later pass on to his son. Today, as president and CEO of the company, John continues to import unique, hand-woven rugs and perpetuates the company tradition of serving as a center on the art and culture of oriental rugs. In addition to lecturing widely and teaching on the subject, he sponsors Antique Oriental Rugs of the Silk Route from the Gregorian Family Collection, an exhibit of over 120 rare examples of the rug weaver's art from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries that has been on display at over seventy museums and universities, including the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. He also served as president of the Oriental Rug Dealers Association for many years. He lives in Wayland, Massachusetts, with his wife, Judith.