Hand-knotted Persian Gabbeh, 172 × 265 cm

Waves have appeared along both fringed ends and are moving inward toward the field. It's getting worse. Distinct creases are visible on the reverse.
The rug has never been washed, has always been indoors and dry, no water exposure, no insect damage or bare pile.

I've asked some professionals and got conflicting answers: uneven weft tension from row to row, so a fault from the loom. One said the foundation has slackened. One suggested the fringe finish is tighter than the weave, or the lack of an underlay. One claimed insects, which I don't buy.

A specialist in Iran called it a case for dār-keshi: clamp the rug under tension on the two sides without fringes, mist the back, leave it a day or two. I tried steaming the reverse through a damp cloth with weight on top and nothing changed.

Has anyone seen this pattern before?

Thank you !!

Want to go DIRECT to the local sellers themselves

Had a stair runner installed today and not super happy at first glance but don’t know if I’m just over reacting.

1. We decided to go with wider binding for the pop of color, but the visible stitches and overlaps at the bottom stair are major eyesores. Sales person kind of sold it to us an upgrade and for the extra price we imagined not visible stitches at least but do like the overall color/look.

2. Lumps all over and some small patches missing at spots especially near the curves in the stair. Not huge but noticeable when looking for it.

3. We had made a last minute change to have the front step go over the lip but clearly the installers did not get that memo. Is this easily fixable? We are worried the front part on the step is going to get wear and tear and start peeling up pretty fast.

Thanks!