Silk rug. Some wear or corrosion. Size about 4'x6'.
Please let me know any thoughts about origin, quality and/or market value.

Your time and attention is much appreciated! Thank you

Kindly tell us a bit more information about what you do have on this rug - it's age, origins, how did you acquire?

Hmm, not silk Heriz, they tend to have a very unique character about them. But it could be Persian ca. 1940's/50's. Regardless of origin, I doubt the rug is much older than 30's, and say this based on several factors but mainly construction / colors/ appearance - although could be wrong. If I had to make an educated guess - perhaps Tabriz. The loss to silk can be from any number of things, although silk tends to become brittle when exposed to UV and other environmental factors. Although the durability is there, over many years the fold wear is not that of wool, and eventually will break/powder or deteriorate. This rug does not appear to have horrible deterioration, but as you note, it does show some use. Much more than this can be problematic as silk rugs are quite costly and difficult to restore, so you may be at a good point in time to bring it off the floor and display on the wall in an area of the home that does not receive a great amount of sunlight.

Bringing the rug off the floor is a good idea. It sounds like you have done some investigating on how to clean silk rugs, however, I would 100% advise against cleaning yourself. There are too many problematic issues that may arise. Even with distilled water, some silks stiffen up like a board. The pile becomes severely matted then dry hard and extremely brittle/fragile. Bring it to a professional for sure. I am unsure on the origin of this rug, if I had to make an educated guess there was a variety of Bulgarian silk carpets made in the 1950's and 60's that had similar aesthetic and technical aspects to this carpet. I do not believe it to be Persian, especially by weave, knotting, color tones and overall look, although, I look forward to the insight of others on the forum.

Also, about finding a good professional rug cleaner, it has never happened to me and I am not sure how common it is but I have heard of special, high quality carpets being "lost" when someone returns to get their carpet. (They are then given an insignificant insurance pay off).

If true, cleaners reputation would also be important.

Sharafi and Co. - thank you for your input. I am learning, I had never heard of Bulgaria as a rug producer.

If I can determine cotton vs. silk weft: silk would "definitely" indicate Tabriz?

I need to overcast the ends to ensure no further weft loss - perhaps I can do a burn test on a small piece.

Thanks again for sharing your experience. Cheers

RugPro - yes, looks like faded black marker. Not legible to me, can not tell if it was numbers or letters.

No tag, etc. was stapled /attached to rug.