This study employs an interpretive ethnographic approach and draws on Sheth, Newman, and Gross’s(1991)theory of consumption values to examine how buyers’ culture shapes tableau-rug selection in the markets of Tabriz and Sardrud, Iran. Previous studies have mainly focused on image-content analysis and commodification, paying less attention to buyers’ motivations.This study identifies the roles of five consumption values—social, emotional, functional, epistemic, and conditional—and explores how cultural beliefs and motivations influence design and theme preferences.Data were collected through participant observation, field notes, and in-situ conversations with buyers, sellers, and producers, then analyzed through thematic analysis, open coding, and axial coding. Findings indicate that social values, including status display, class affiliation, and competition with the “other,”and emotional values, including personal memories, grief management, and folk healing beliefs, are the most prevalent motivations.Functional values, concerning durability and interior-design compatibility;epistemic values, concerning novelty and departure from tradition; and conditional values, associated with investment under inflation, dowry preparation, gift-giving, and migration, also influence decisions in specific circumstances.The findings demonstrate that tableau-rug purchasing involves interacting consumption values.Despite commodification, tableau-rugs retain their capacity to express personal and collective meanings.By integrating consumption value theory with interpretive ethnography, this study provides an analysis of the cultural motivations underlying tableau-rug purchasing.