All 4 are very nice. If you are able to buy them - take all. At least this is what I always do if I get a good chance to buy nice old rugs.

1.
In my opinion a nice Sarough with Farahan border, probably not so old (1940-50) because of the yellow and light blue. I personally like it because of the color contrast. Seems to be in good condition.

2.
Really nice Sarough, early type, seems to be in best condition. If you are out for an american Sarouk, this is it! My choise no 1!

3.
Very intersting runner size and great design. Can`t tell too much about condition due to picture quality. Older than the 4th rug, I think between 1910 and 1920. Beautiful tree of life design with vase - not very common for old Sarouks, it is a design you usually find in old Kashan rugs of this time.

4.
Old Sarouk, probably the youngest of the three american Sarouk type rugs, I think 1935 +. Seems to be in very good condition, but in my eyes this is the "commercial" stuff from the end of the american Sarouk times.

Beautiful old pieces. My first choice would be rug no. 2, and I think the first rug is actually a Persian Malayer and not a Sarouk. For all four pieces, provided they do not have major damage or repair, 3000-4000 would be a fair price. Buy all four if you can. Good luck.

...UPDATE: sale happened, and here's what went down...

It turned-out they had a couple of more rugs that were just as nice, including a 5x7 Kashan that looked wonderful, but were asking $1,500, a small sized, 2x3 Fereghan they were selling for $500, and another rug that looked like a really nice 5x7 something, but was rolled up and being walked-out by a gentleman who clearly was a rug dealer.

So, i ended up getting Rug 02, which was actually a 3x5 sarouk, for $650 and Rug 04, which was 2.5x6.5 feet for $650, so $1,300 for the both. I'm really happy with the purchase and feel I got a good deal since i think they are in wonderful condition and they look amazing, plus my wife said it was okay to spend that much, yeah!!! oh, and they were asking $750 for each so i was able to quickly talk them down a $100 per rug...

Also, Rug 03 was listed as a Kashan runner, and was extremely find a detailed, but had an area of wear and condition issues on the sides and ends - they were asking $600 and it was probably 2x5.5 or so...probably a not-so-common size for a Kashan, but the condition seemed far less than the Sarouk runner and the one thing I learned on the Forum is that condition is everything...

And Rug 01 was listed for $3,000 and said it was a Fereghan, and man, it was really, really beautiful in person and the colors and weave were amazing (more subdued in person and very finely detailed - the knot count was quite high).... I do wonder what it really went for.

Anyway, I am very happy with my find and am growing quite proud of my antique sarouk collection...i truly do enjoy the hunt and coming away with a nice find...

Thank to everyone on the forum, especially KAD, Rugpro, Rugfirm, and all the others the weight in on the rugs i bring to the forum... it really is a great thing!

mosaic08