Thanks again for all of your help.

I posted some photos of this rug 5-6 days ago but they were from my camera phone; here are some better and hopefully more useful pics. I'll rephrase part of my earlier post: obtained rug in mid-late 80's from the family of retired air force colonel and had an appraisal done at that time in California. I've since lost the appraisal and best I can remember is that it is a Nain; 20% silk 80% wool; it's about 9.5 x 6.5 feet; the appraiser said the name woven into the rug was some version of "Hamadi" but in recent weeks and when I posted it last, it appears to actually be Habibian.

If anybody could help please I would like to know the following and any other info that you might be able to pass along:

1. I understand that there are Habibian signed rugs from his family factory and sort of good-fine quality copycat rugs from nearby operations trying to enhance their own value by adding the Habibian name....does anyone have an idea which my rug is or how to tell?

2. Any idea of the age?

3. I tried to the unraveling of a string and think I got 2 strands then 3 from each; does that sound reasonable and accurate based on the photos?

4. What is your estimate of the kpsi?

5. Value range retail and wholesale?

Thanks for all you help.....

This is the kind of carpet it's best to have someone see in person by a reputable rug retailer in your area. There are several technical characteristics for the type that need careful consideration. If you wanted a quick way to tell if it is habibian or at least a relatively good nain, pull one knot of the silk to test if it is real. The rug does have a few characteristics to my eye that do not exhibit a highly refined nain on the level of habibian

http://www.rugrag.com/po...do-I-Remove-a-Knot.aspx

If it is real silk it does not mean it is habibian.

You have to be around a lot of rugs to notice the small details and differences. Depending on the types, certain facets matter more and others less. For workshop rugs, such as those from Nain, you want to see really good crisp colors, high knot density, a design that is not more advanced than the weave, excellent wool with little mixing from grey or black sheep in the ivory. The problem is it is difficult to distinguish this unless you have seen a lot of this exact type.

Until I can find a reputable dealer to take the rug into....could any of you give me some best and worst estimates to value....?

For example, if it is from the Habibian workshop then the retail value would roughly be....??

And, if it is just a good rug with real silk that somebody put in the Habibian name, the value range would be...??

Lastly, if the silk is fake, then value range would be.....??

Many thanks.....

Thanks RugPro.

I saw the listing for that service offer on this site and had considered it; but since you had recommended earlier that it was important to take the rug in person to a qualified appraiser, I decided it was probably best to do that but also educate myself a bit more before going.

I'm very appreciative of your time and of the time provided by others and to this site for bearing the expense of maintaining it but I'm not sure what's the appropriate course of action at this point. There are different levels of service that is offered in terms of an online appraisal by you or others on this site; since I'm planning on taking the rug in person to an appraiser, what level of online evaluation do you think I need and what list of information am I likely to receive?

Thanks again....

There is a lot of speculation on rugs like this when some info is not available and could be. It's best to take one thing a step at a time. I think you should try the burn test on the silk highlights by pulling a knot.

You can post a photo of results in the thread. You want to pay attention to the odor, and how it burns. In your carpet the suspected area possibly being silk is a line of white/ivory highlight. The link provided has instructions on how to burn and decipher the difference. It's best not to speculate about whether this or that. Please keep everything on this thread so other visitors may benefit from continuous convos.

OK...thanks for your patience; it took a while for me get back to my rug stuff.....anyway, my wife has the super nose in the family and so I used a razor blade and sliced off the sort of frayed knot that was in the photo that posted on another thread (no pun intended) and we burned it on a piece of aluminum foil and even though it was a small puff, she said it smelled a bit like burning hair...I'm guessing that's indicative of silk...

...so, what's our next step in this process....?

Thanks...!

Research will only take you so far. You need to bring it to someone highly experienced in rugs that may even have a few comparison pieces. Reading is good, although engaging is better. Rugs are very tactile, very unique, but at the same time if you're only comparing one rug to itself, you're not really comparing. Take a look over at the ORRA website, perhaps call a few people in your area, just let them know a brief background about what you think you have, and might you be able to compare it with a few pieces they may have? Some dealers may be stand-offish since they will be focused on sales, but if you are upfront and honest about your intentions and interest, you never know what relationship you may build.

New handful of questions...I'm trying to use the online self appraisal tool (http://www.rugrag.com/AppraisalViewer.aspx?QueryID=0BA96FB4-7C6E-4655-BC73-65BC6F91D4EF) and wanted to see if someone could help me with the correct selection for these questions on my rug....

CONDITION

YARN PLY

NUMBER OF COLORS

HAND SPUN OR MACHINE HARD TWIST

FIBERS

IRREGULARITIES IN SHAPE OR DESIGN

AGE

PILE HEIGHT

TEA WASH/LUSTER WASH


If you can't help by looking at the photos then tell me generally what to check and I'll do it and post here....

Thanks again...>!!

Yes, thanks RugPro, that's what I'm trying to use but I need a little help with some of the choices on my rug....I'm guessing that some you can't help with unless you have the rug in hand but maybe you could help me select some of the ones that I listed a couple of messages ago.

As always, thanks for everyone's help.....

WOW....thanks RugPro; you went over and above by filling out the form for me....I appreciate that.

When I get an actual appraisal; I assume that I should make sure that the appraiser includes an evaluation of ALL of the items in your online appraisal that you just did....are there other categories that I need to make sure that the appraiser provides comment and opinion?

Thanks again....

25 years maybe 40 no older really.

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