Art as a rug

When does a rug lose its employment of keeping the floor warm when you stand on it and become purely decorative? Is it when it is hung from a wall or put into an exhibition? Does a rug ever loose its ability to still do the job it was made for?

When looking at a rug that was made from solid gold and semi precious stones, I originally thought "wow that is amazing" but then I thought "what is the point in that?" over exuberantly showing the fact they have loads of money? It will never be stood on or laid on, it will never have anything spilt on or trod in. Where is the fun in that? It will be stuck in a glass box and hung from a wall and never, ever be put on the floor.

Wool rugs can last a long time and still look vibrant and beautiful and even luxurious, especially if they have a deep shaggy pile. The colours that people can make are limitless so a rug could be any colour at all, it could even have an etricate design cut out of it to have extra body and depth.

So why have a solid gold rug when no one will be able to touch when you could have a wool rug with is easy to clean and soft to touch?