I'm not to familiar with the exact specs on the Atiyeh Kermans of this vintage. I suspect, and this is my guess, the knot density would be in the vicinity 225 KPSI, with a 2 ply yarn as that's pretty much what the top of the line Kermans of mid 20th century tended to be. Atiyeh may may have imported several qualities, I just don't know off the bat. Right now I'm talking upper crust Kermans with exceptional dyes, no abrash, thick pile... The one's which were found in well-to-do homes. There were American design Kermans (which these are sometimes referred to as) which did exceed 225 KPSI, but they were few and far between.
Value of these rugs is way across the board, and I would really have to see excellent, excellent photographs to give give a ballpark. I've heard of ridiculously low prices people have been able to snatch these rugs up at.
Kerman rugs were well known to come in very large sizes, not particularly conducive to today's market. Now, people look for the 8x10 and 9x12, and in some cases, mansion size rugs tend to fetch higher premium too, but of course, this really depends. My feeling is that the best of these rugs are the ones which do not feature too much pink pastels. Slightly deeper blues than the one posted seem to sell better as well.
I'm going on a LOT of assumptions here, I have no idea what this rug looks like, but I'll give you information as I know it from my experience.
Kermans are not like *select* instances like an antique heriz or serapi. Condition is king with Kermans as is the other mentioned branding above.
The upside to this vintage kerman was the thick pile. People loved them. The downside to these rugs were the thick pile, They BLOOM easily with washing and use. The problem is a lot of these rugs were used. You see some that have dry rot in the corner from potting plants, some with very short fringe, frayed corners.... People do not tend to put much money into these ones...
Please read this carefully, because while the numbers seem large, the condition for these rugs and importers they come from do matter a great deal, as does the holding time and carrying cost in a collection & inventory. From my experience, brand new old Kermans such as the previously mentioned higher end pieces can fetch upwards of $12,000-17,000 in a 9x12 size if they have excellent colors, excellent character, and are MINT. This would be NYC Retail. I'm talking
Absolutely MINT like they were cut off the loom 60+ year old semi antiques with choice wool and
never used. Justifiably so with the price if the rug may be traced back to a prominent importer. Finding a rug like this in perfect condition (these are not your run of the mill Tabatabaei Tabriz rugs) is like unearthing a mint condition 1955 thunderbird that starts right up. It's a very rare event. Arjomand kermans in the previously mentioned condition tend to be around 10-14 K in similar condition. These are all in IDEAL sizes, Ideal Colors, Ideal Condition
However, these rugs were used. But even
If they show the Slightest bit of wear, have fraying of the fringe, even with a consistently even pile, I've seen this price halved NYC retail. If the rug shows small spot repairs, poor refringe, repiled areas, just a slightly uneven pile, reduce by an additional 40-70% more on top of the already reduced 50%. So the value decreases very quickly according to condition.
Private party I can't even get into. It varies too much. I've seen the prices way high, way low, appropriately so, not so much, it's all across the board. It's an item by item basis, and Kermans, as many rugs, really fall into their own category. Not saying this to be tooting my horn, but small things about special rugs that most people would overlook can really impair value.
I posted this before, and need confirmation when you have a moment:
btuma - you mentioned the size of the original rug (the Kashan design) on this post to be 5'2"x9'6. The rug appears to be shorter than this in length. Does the size include fringe, or is the photographs of the full rug just create the appearance of a wider piece?