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My in-laws just gave me a dozen rugs that I know nothing about
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Jahan Offline
#1 Posted : Monday, October 18, 2010 11:19:53 PM(UTC)
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My very generous in-laws just gave me over a dozen rugs from Iran and perhaps Turkey that I've photographed and posted on my personal site, jahan.com, and now I'm hoping for help identifying them. They told me they bought most of them in West Virginia from a traveling Iranian rug merchant in a white van (ah, the old entrepreneurial spirit of the Middle East) between 1920 and 1960. I have no idea how old the rugs are, or where they've from, or how much they're worth. A few need repairs. All but one had been sitting in an attic for about 40-50 years.

If you go to http://www.jahan.com you'll see my high-res posts of their photos with an attempt at providing clear enough shots (and a quarter as a scale) to identify these rugs. Any buyers out there? I'd like to keep half, and sell half, but I need expert opinions on their origin and value.

A couple are odd-balls... two kilims, a Chinese rug (probably circa 1900), and what looks to me like a machine-made runner. You'll see what I mean if you take a look. I've numbered them and posted their sizes.

I'd be enormously grateful for any help.

-- Jahan

jahan.com
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RugPro Offline
#2 Posted : Thursday, October 21, 2010 9:22:25 AM(UTC)
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kilims are not worth much. The chinese rug is around 1920 - 1940 - nichols style but probably not nichols. The nicest would be the bijar and sarouks, but it looks like one of the bijars has some bad loss to the ends. The best bijar is number 20, but that has wear on the face. the bokharas and turkmen design are probably from lahore pakistan. The american sarouks are nice, from around 1950. Rug number 10 has an interesting border which i think was discussed somewhere here on the forum once when a feraghan sarouk came up. but this is not that old. A few of the carpets are within the last 15 years including the pak peshawar caucasian

All in all, not a bad collection, but conditional issues exist
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Jahan on 10/22/2010(UTC)
Jahan Offline
#3 Posted : Friday, October 22, 2010 10:39:47 PM(UTC)
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RugPro, thank you very much. You're amazing. I'd like to take the few that need repairs to somewhere in New York or DC (or North Carolina) if you have a recommendation for a reliable, affordable repair shop. I travel between those three places regularly, so they're the most convenient and cost-effective for me, but I would consider elsewhere.

I don't think I'll sell any in the near future, I'll simply spread them around the floors of my house. My daughters' bedrooms, my living room, etc. Oriental rugs give me great pleasure, much more so than paintings or sculpture or other artwork. I love the back-story, the cultural ties, the regional connections, and the tactile quality of rugs.

In any case, I plan to learn as much as I can about each of these rugs, and your reply was a great beginning. I have a Turkish friend of mine who deals rugs promising to give me feedback as well, and I'll post that here in case anyone is interested.

Gratefully,

Jahan
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Shereen Offline
#4 Posted : Tuesday, October 26, 2010 7:42:52 PM(UTC)
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Rug #3 is a Beluch with oxidized browns, possibly all natural colors, and possibly antique, but in any case could easily be 80-110 years old, I believe. Borders, field design, colors, weave, selvages and kilim ends are all typical Beluch.
Beluch rugs of that age and of that kind are among the least valuable antique/old rugs, since coarse weave and not very good colours, but they are authentic tribal pieces.
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Jahan Offline
#5 Posted : Tuesday, October 26, 2010 8:21:38 PM(UTC)
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Shereen, thank you very much. A Baluch, huh? Glad to hear. That's one of my favorite rugs, and the date you gave is consistent with the story my in-laws give of my wife's grandparents buying it.

Khayli mamnun-am, khanum.

-- Jahan
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Shereen Offline
#6 Posted : Tuesday, October 26, 2010 9:27:41 PM(UTC)
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You are very welcome, Jahan. (But my Farsi is very rudimentary, alas.)

I, too, love Baluch rugs. My first rug ever was Baluch, with 28 navy and 28 red chickens on a camel field, I just fell in love with it, and it opened my eyes to the world of beauty of hand-knotted and antique rugs.
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