Had the signature translated. Says "qastebi in Iran" and is a mihrab style rug. Any ballpark estimates or comment on the age? I'm a little Leary that its from 1790...

Any guess on the year? I'm kind of stuck. I can get out of the purchase if its not as advertised but I'm not sure of its value regardless of the date.

I paid $1900 - what do you think? Not sure if I mentioned but its 10' x 12'6" and is in mihrab style. What would you pay for such a rug?

I would date it around 1900 +/- 15 years. The price seems to be very ok if the rug has no damage like dry or rotten areas or painted areas to hide low pile. This is not visible on this picture. A very nice and decorative rug with an unusal size.

1. I have no idea how competent New York State Historical Society is in dating rugs - they are no rug dealers.

2. Experianced dealers have seen a lot of rugs and know their age. So they can tell from design, color and structure what age they are (approximatley). As RugPro posted before, it should be checked by an expert. I can give you an idea about age from the picture, but this has absolutely nothing to do with a personal examination of the object. the more information the person who is inspecting the rug gets, the closer will be the dating of the rug. Antique persian rugs are art. Like with paintings, a photo of it can give an idea, nothing more!

3. As I posted, I think it was made 1900 +/- 15 years. This is based on the information I can get from the posted pictures. If you pay 2000$ for the rug it is a very good price if the rug is not dry or rotten, or pile is very low.

4. I recommend you take a few bucks in your pocket to pay an expert to check what you bought. Don`t tell him the story of 1790 and where ever the rug came from. Just let him look at the piece and give you his view of the rug.

5. If the rug was in good shape I would buy it for 2000$ with age 1915. So - as long as the condition of the rug is good you made no mistake.

I checked all available photos on the web showing historic photots of Schuyler Mansion in Albany - there are quite nice rugs to see, but I didn`t see the one you bought. So maybe this was added later.

If you look at the history of the building:

After Philip Schuyler's death in 1804, the land comprised over one hundred building lots which were divided among his numerous children.[4] From 1886 to 1913, the mansion served as an orphanage until the state assumed ownership.[9] It was restored and dedicated as an historic monument on October 17, 1917. (source: Wikipedia)

Knowing this history, it is clear that most furniture must have been removed 1886 and was newly furnished after 1917. I don`t think they spend a fortune buying rugs that where more than 120 years old at this time - they probably took what they where able to get to furnish the house.

I still think it is not 1790. From the close up pictures I would date it pre 1900, but within the 15 years I mentioned before. What is the size of it?

If you paid $ 2000 it is a great price for a rug like that. If you don`t like it - I would take it for that price without hesitation. Who cares if it is 1790 ot not? A rug from 1790 in this condition would not be available for a lot more of what you paid. The rug looks good on the pictures and you made a good deal.

Getting closer - it's definitely older than 1900. Tracked it down to a donation in 1919 from the Colonial Dames (direct descendants of the original colony leaders) - it was at that time that they declared it a 1790's rug. I'm pretty sure experts they had on site could tell the difference between a 19 year old rug and one that was old.

The sons of the revolution group had also documented in their 1912 meeting notes that they had secured original furnishings from the schuylers and the donations were lined up from the colonial dames (they were trying to save the house at the time from being demolished).

Either way i'm heading down to NY to get it appraised at Sotheby's. I'll upload a few more pics...

Size is 10' x 12'

Presumably they valued these carpets before they were sold, so they may be worth what you paid? The kerman had a very tough-to-sell design and size. The other pieces you cant really tell what they are without more detail photos.

definitely a persian kirmanshaw.....if it is in good shape and not in need of repair and if it were from 1790 it would be extremely valuable. i would have guessed 1890 but impossible to give a sincere and accurate opinion with just photos. pretty rug.

Waiting on the specialist to get back from his out of town trip. He's going to review the pictures and let us know if hes interested in including it in the auction.

Any thoughts on this old guy? Can the color be restored?

LOL - experts in auction houses ..... :-)