I bought from this seller (and returned) the prices are low, the rugs are hand knotted, probably not as old as listed or completely honest about where they come from...the seller is good about accepting returns, if your mom isn't happy.

thanks! great input! i hate that they are hand knotted. any advice as to whether she overpaid? they arrived yesterday and can still be returned.

thanks!!

Both are rather 1970 than 1930, but the colors and designs are nice.
The runner is a Meshkin rug from north western Iran, description ok so far. Price is also ok if the pile is high and the rug has no major defects.
The other rug is more a Nahavand than a Lilian or Malayer, even the weave looks a lot alike on these types. This type of description is not 100% correct, but it is common to use better known names for the rugs so the buyer has some idea where it comes from. The design is really beautiful, I like this type of rug a lot. Your mom can lean back and enjoy - in my opinion it was a fair deal, exept for the wrong description of age - I would not mind. If both rugs where 1930 or older and in this condition, she would have payed at least triple.

rugfan,

Handknotted means a weaver knotted every knot of the carpet (see on the back) by hand, one by one, row by row. Tens of thousands per rug. This is a good thing that makes the rugs more valuable.

The alternative is machine made, where machines are programmed with certain patterns. Those rugs look usually perfect in pattern (except those that have been programmed to imitated the human element (irregularities) of hand-knotted ones), and are lifeless and boring in design. Not pieces of art, but mass productions.

Oh, I see. "Hand-woven" is the more generic term. There are various ways to produce rugs by hand, and they look very different (quite independent of design).

Piled rugs (like the one your mom bought) are hand-woven (i.e. made entirely by hand) AND hand-knotted. There are different types of knots used in different areas, but they all result in a pile, this soft velvety surface. (You should google "symmetric knot" and "asymmetric knot", then you get pictures.

Kilims can also be hand-woven or machine-made, but they are flat-weaves, that is you get a flat, even, less shiny appearance. You should look up kilims on ebay, then you see. With kilims, usually the back looks exactly like the front, and you can use them either way round. There are very beautiful hand-woven old Turkish and Navajo Kilims.

There are also Sumak rugs, also hand-woven, which are some kind of hand-embroidery, also flat-weaves, but the underside looks messy. Lots were produced in the Caucasus a century or so ago.

And there are needle-point rugs (usually European), made similar to needlepoint cushions, these can also be hand-woven (stich by stich) or machine made.

These are the most common ones, there are some more that one rarely finds.

It should scare you to buy in ebay. I am in carpet business for more than 20 years I don't like to buy on ebay. I had couple of bad experience on ebay. I wish you good luck.