I, a Novice Member, welcome you......and we must wait for Pro to give you real info.
Having said that, cause I now have the Rug Bug....this, to me, looks like a very finely woven, hand knotted rug. Maybe over 300 kpsi even. Maybe even with some silk in the pile. At least, I sure hope so.
I think Pro will wanna know the diameter and also request a clear image of the underside with a ruler along the wefts, those are the in this, very fine white threads perpendicular to the knots. Below, I have marked them in red.
Do you know where & when your friend purchased this rug?
Jilly attached the following image(s):