If you are not confident that you can pull a knot out then don't do it. Just try and isolate a strand of silk from the front and cut it off if you find that easier. Personally I think you will find that it is real silk.

From the photos one of the strands appears to be shinier than the other two and that should be the silk one. If you look at where it from the front and is in the same line as the rest of the silk in the pattern then that would confirm it further.

That to me sounds like natural fibre no whether that was wool or silk I can't tell. If the piece you burnt was of different texture to the wool then I would say its silk. But the residue should have been powdery rather than a resin.

See new photo of "white" area with red pencil pointing in the middle of the area....does this look like a good spot to pull what is hopefully a silk knot?...or does this look like an ivory wool...or what do you think....?

Also, I've added two photos with a ruler; length and width....any guesses as to the knot per inch count...?

Thanks

OK, thanks. Here's another photo; what do you think of the fine white line between the two dark areas?

Also, I got down close with a high intensity light; looking at the back and the front. I think the rug must be pretty dirty; I've never had it cleaned and have had it for nearly 30 years and it's been on the floor in low traffic areas for all of that but about 5 years when it was in storage. Anyway, there are white outline areas on the top that look shiny at an oblique angle but straight down just look like a dull ivory. I've tried to match up some of those on top with the bottom side; but on the bottom side, they look like the big area that I showed the first time with the pencil. I'm probably a bit confused but am enjoying this learning experience.

What do you think of the new photo with the pencil point?

Thanks.

OK...I pulled one..!!! It wasn't so bad; I did go and buy an extra large needle....it first came out in a few strands that kind of literally blew away, just disappeared. The next time I guess I got the all or most of the knot because I had enough to kind of form it into a sort of spherical tuft of sorts. Anyway, since it was white, I put it on a dark background and thought it would show up best on photo. After I put the gas lighter to it, it quickly kind of curled up. It didn't really leave the "powder" like you described but you can look at what left in the attached photo.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for and since it really didn't turn into what I thought you described as a powder, I decided to add a control to this little experiment. In the photo attached, there are two masses of leftovers from burning with the lighter. The smaller one on the right is the knot that I pulled from my rug. The larger one on the left side of the photo is the remains after I burnt a larger mass that I cut from one of my wife's 100% silk scarfs (I don't think she's reading this forum but just in case....shhhhh). Both of the burnt in the same manner and reduced in size the same fashion and essentially have left the same residue. So, I guess if the rug is made of faux silk then my wife's scarf is also (which these days I guess that's possible as well).

Are you all able to zoom in on the residue and give an opinion?....do I need to try something else...?

Thanks

In the future it helps to see the same piece one end burned, the other not. This way the same fiber may be seen in before and after. Based on these images it would appear this could be wool or silk, they sometimes have similar burn characteristics, and I am unsure as to what it originally looked like since there was confusion on the original sample being pulled.

First, identify the suspected silk knot on the back.

Then extract as best you can with a needle to loosen one end.

Twist the loose end in between your fingers to make it stronger, then try to pull it out.

If you cannot do it with your fingers, you can try needle nose pliers - clamp the silk, then roll the pliers clockwise to wrap it around to pull out. Using this technique is better than trying to yank it out.

You should then have your sample.

Hold it in some tweesers, and burn one end

Take photo and upload.

Ok, I pulled another knot....after digging out one end with the needle, I tried the twisting and pulling with 2 different sets of pliers but both kept slipping off of it...pulled firmly with my fingers but fine threads kept coming out of the knot instead of a large piece...ended up digging more with the needle and pulled a "bigger" first end out and then the rest of the knot came out with a firm steady pull...got a much larger mass than the first time....it was still quite "frayed" from the pulling...I moistened it a bit and did a clockwise twist and made it much thinner and it collected together...this burned about the same way as the first smaller knot material did except this one seemed to end up in one bigger black ball/knot and the first one had a lot of little ones.

Here's photos and they are named as to what they are.....

Thanks....

These are excellent photos. Based on what is seen, the images are consistent with how burned silk would appear.

Nain rugs are heavily technical when it comes to qualitative measures, so seeing the rug in person is the best way to really evaluate. From what you are showing us here, if the carpet is relatively clean with no concealed issues you have a rug with enough value to substantiate the need for an in-person appraisal from a qualified professional which typically runs $250 for a formal letter. If your intention is to sell quickly however, that would be a different scenario.