Hi Architect! Welcome to the Forum

Cool piece, interesting to see this find. Surprised someone would put it out onto the curb. Probably not the best idea to keep it in a plastic bag though. Although it may not have bugs or other, rugs tend to absorb moisture, and a lot of it. I forget the exact fact, but wool can absorb something like 30% its weight in water before even starting to feel moist... I don't know. The point is, it's not the best idea to keep it in a bag.

This rug appears to have a wool pile with a wool foundation. I can't tell you too much the design it other than the repeating allover field "medallions" are often refered to as guls. Any additional info I would have to break out one of the books from the library. My hunch is that this is an Afghan piece, perhaps an eBay purchase. Similar rugs show up there. As for value, nothing too substantial, it depends on wear. I can see there is some color run in the ivory and on the fringe. Not atypical for this type. Figure about $1.75- $4 per square foot for something like this on eBay (Shipped). If the rug does have color run as it appears, it would certainly be on the much lower side, as would the wear also contribute to a lower price range.

I would either keep it and use it (if the wife says ok), or consider selling locally on CL or something like this. You may even be able to get a couple more bucks than the regular sellers on eBay that sell similar items. It's not uncommon that a well displayed ebay rug from a private seller may have a higher perceived value than coming from one of the "mass" sellers.

Thank you both for the tips and the encouragement. Now to find a place for it...