Appraisal and expert opinion on price/fair market vakue requested for these rugs.

1. http://www.urbanrugs.com...5_PERSIAN_QUOM_RUG.html#
2. http://www.urbanrugs.com...TIFUL_VINTAGE_PIECE.html
3. http://www.urbanrugs.com...MAHI_PATTERN_CARPET.html
4. http://www.urbanrugs.com...PERSIAN_ISFAHAN_RUG.html
5. http://www.urbanrugs.com..._PERSIAN_BIDJAR_RUG.html

Thanks

Thanks for the comments. The Qum rug in question is not a silk rug but wool on cotton - is your comment a general comment on the workmanship of these rugs or any particular rug here? None of these are silk on silk and/or 625KPSI rugs. Most of the rugs here are low/medium KPSI except the Isfahan which is claimed to be 550KPSI. So I am a bit confused reading your post. Any insights on these rugs will be helpful. Thanks

I looked at the rugs. All of them are ok. Description is also ok. The "Bidjar" is a Goltogh, but these rugs are always sold as Bidjar (same problem with Nain and Tabbas). But Goltogh and Bidjar are not far from each other, and Goltogh belongs to the Bidjar / Garrous rug family. So I can even see no problem in that. I also looked at the other rugs this dealer offers, and I cannot see any problem. All rugs are described correctly, no oriental fairytales like on most ebay shops. I have no idea about their prices for the rugs you posted, but the two silk rugs from this shop posted a few days ago had a fair price, absolutely ok.

Also I have to reply to the statement btuma6 gave:

"In general new Iranian rugs are not close to the quality of the old"

I don`t agree to this at all. In old times there was as many commercial production as there is today. Old Saroughs where a mass production product for the american market that has nothing to do with classic iranian rug design traditions. Along with many good rugs that still exist today, there was a lot of junk that passed away 50 years ago already.

Looking at the iranian rug production of the last 30 year, there was a lot of junk produced, no question! For me personally Tabas, Tabriz on nylon warp, many Kashan / Ardakan type rugs and most of the Kerman rugs belong to this category.

But also there are rugs made by companies like Sherkat, Zollanvari, Carpet Heritage, Parvisian, Jamshidi, Meehdi, Miri, as well as many small workshops in all production areas that are top of the world. They make exquisit rugs, but their rugs cost 4 - 5 times more than commercial production.

Overall, I really like your taste (if the selection has been made by you), and here is what I think:

1- The Qum has a pile of kurk wool with cotton foundation. I am not crazy about the colors in this rug, but if you are planning to use it in a high traffic area, this is a good choice as far as the durability. I think $950-$1200 would be a fair value for this rug.

2- I absolutely love this Isfahan, nice pattern (called Gonbad and not Gombad), beautiful colors. As for the market value, this rug is worth $2400-$2600.

3- This is a 40 raj Mahi pattern from Khoy. These rugs are bought and sold as Tabriz but the exact place of origin would be Khoy, not that it makes any difference to you. Personally, I like 50 raj Mahi much better than lower quality. I think although the price would be higher for 50 raj Mahi, the difference is well worth it. A fair market value for this rug would be $650-$750.

4- This is also a good Isfahan rug with the same Gonbad design as rug number 2, and of course, the "Hakimi" signature as well as the silk foundation make it more valuable. However, I like the color combination in number 2 much better than this piece. I would say a fair market value for this rug is $1200-$1400.

5- This is a Gholtogh rug from Zanjan area and not a Bijar rug. However, due to their geographic proximity, they are very close. Like a bijar, Gholtogh rugs are also very durable. However, pricewise, they are a bit lower than Bijar. This one in your picture is one of the nicer pieces of Gholtogh I have seen. The value would be $450-$550.

I hope you will find my reply helpful. These are only my opinion and I could be very wrong about all of them. I realize that my knowledge is extremely limited. I also hope that nobody will find my opinion insulting. Good Luck.

btmua6,
I am with you about the old rugs - I like them a lot better than many new ones. But as a dealer I think I must be honest about other dealers inverntory. The rugs they are offering are a lot better than what you see in many other stores in USA. If I have the choise to buy an old Isfahan in very good condition or a new Isfahan, I am pretty sure I will take the old one. But what I wanted to point out is that new rugs don`t have to be worse than old ones. A rug is not good because it is old or new.
Going back to the rugs from the posting: I personally would not have bought most of them due to personal taste - I pick every rug I buy personally, and it is normal to only buy rugs you like or think they are so beautiful other poeple will like them. But there is a difference you always need to be aware of - optical (taste) quality and workmanship quality. I also agree with rugfirm, I would also not go crazy about the Qum, but it is a very good rug due to its wool and knotting quality.

And yes, I am absolutely not thrilled about where the rug production in Iran has developed to. I think it is funny that iranian producers are complaining about other countires producing copies from iranian rugs. But they do it themself (Nain in Tabbas, Bidjar in Zandjan / Gotlogh / even Hamadan using Nylon warp, Qum silk rugs copied in Maraghe or Bonab, Kashan in Ardakan - Natanz - Meshed, Tabriz floral design is also copied in Khorasan ... and so on). This is just mass production of floor coverings. But this is only one side of the medal - there still is the persian rug that is made with pride, with heart, with natural dyes and persian highland wool. With designs that come from the poeple and area where the rug was made, with tradition. And these rugs will be the old rugs of tomorrow when generations after us will say: The old rugs where much better than the new rugs... :-).