Q&A: Is this a Persian Rug? Craigslist Rug and Carpet with Mysterious Tags

Question:

Hello Rug Rag!  Thanks for your help in advance.

I have a carpet sitting in my home for testing from someone off of craigslist.  They said they think it is an Ardabil, handmade, and from Iran- the reason they are lacking information is because it was given to them.

Question Continued:

Here is what I have noticed:

1) Wear and tear especially along the edges, and some parts of the rug
2) Toughly 9' 6" x  11'
3) Dirty & and in need of repair!
4) Asking $800.
5) Nice colors?
6) The rug is very soft in the middle where there was no furniture but the outer-areas are quite thin feeling
7) On the back of the rug, very strangely, there are these quite randomly placed pieces of cloth that don't say anything on them. Maybe they were tags and too worn out?

I have no idea the type.  The guy said Chinese, but it obviously is not (unless it was made in China by machine, which I don't think is the case). It is Iranian I think, and the guy said Ardabil (but I certainly have no clue)

I also saw this rug above on Internet Rugs but they call it a Tabriz, not an Ardabil....   Any ideas/thoughts?

Thanks!

-Anonymous 

Photos of Craigslist Rug: 

 
Response: 

Hello, and thanks for the inquiry!  Excellent Photographs too by the way  :)

The carpet you found on Internet Rugs is a classic example of a Tabriz Design, it's sometimes referred to as a Herati (sometimes called "mahi" or fish design) which is an allover repeating pattern in the field.  You may also notice the border confirms this Herati/Tabriz design with what are sometimes referred to as samovar, or "turtle" design elements which are typical to this type of Tabriz rug....  you can see what I'm talking about here regarding the samovar: http://www.rugrag.com/post/The-Samovar.aspx

The Craigslist rug is 100% hand knotted.  There's no way it's machine made or Chinese.  We believe this is an Iranian rug, perhaps in the vicinity of 50-60 years of age, perhaps a little more.  Although it may look wool, the foundation is actually cotton, and the pile is in fact wool. 

Ardebil is probably a correct attribution.  The reason we believe this rug is an Ardebil is for the following reasons: The tone dyes, the look of the slightly coarser wool, the kilim, the edging, and the orientation of the knots which appear to be symmetrical with no offset.  The design is also typical to these older Ardebil weavings.  These characteristics all are what would be found in similar vintage Ardebil or slightly outlying Ardebil in NW Persian Rugs.

The wear on this Craigslist carpet is significant, and unfortunately this does adversely affect the value.  Ordinarily we would ask for a full photograph of the entire rug...  Without even seeing the entire rug, some areas (such as the lengthwise split) will need proper attention.  The current mend which is present will probably not hold up well to a thorough cleaning, and the rug could even be further damaged by regular vacuuming.

$800 is steep from what we see in the photographs.  It's a great looking rug with very nice timeless design, however, it's simply not in the condition that would command this amount of money.  There should be room for negotiating with this price.

The colors are pretty good.  Although they're not particularly rich, strong or bold, overall they do appear to be solid traditional colors which are not necessarily "era specific."

Other than moth eaten areas, splits, or otherwise exposed foundation, stains or dry rot, repairs, etc...  Often the next "condition" to affect value would be the pile height.  A rug which is worn unevenly will commonly show signs traffic patterns such as you're describing.  The easiest way to prevent this is simply by rotating the carpet and furniture every few years so as to distribute localized areas of wear.  Uneven wear is not good.

We're not entirely sure what these tags are that you have shown pictures of and described, however, what we do know if tags do sometimes show up in weird places.  Perhaps it could at one point have been inventory information, wash tag or other relevant info to importation.  Most likely, these tags have been attached to "dropped warps" which run vertically through the rug.  Ordinarily, after the rug is woven, these would be marked, and subsequently cut and knotted to prevent pulling. 

Overall:

If the rug is dirty and you're going to need to clean it....  It's going to also need repair to secure loose areas.  The rug has great character, from the kilim to the edges and the design.  The design is very stately as well.  Again, $800 should give some negotiating room with this carpet given the present condition, and more so, the work and additional time and money you may have to invest to have this be a "cleanable" rug.

Thanks again for the inquiry,

-Rug Rag 

We look forward to talking with anyone who may have questions on or about Oriental Rugs.  We are an Independent Reviewer, and will give you our opinion for any rug, new or old.  Should you have any questions you would like to submit for a blog entry response, please do so, and be sure to include photographs of your rug.  For more information, please take a look at the bottom of this page, or feel free to Contact Us at Info@RugRag.com

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For all those interested in submitting a question to the Rug Rag Editors:  We'd be more than happy to help, please send some photographs of the reverse side of the rug very close up with a quarter placed on the knots, plus a picture of the fringe, the whole face of the rug and detail shot of the pile.  If the rug is worn, please include photographs of worn areas.  For rugs of any age, please be sure to check for dry areas, moth damage, odor, and whether or not the rug is straight/has right angles where called for.  If you have any questions about our assessment request feel free to send us an email.  Otherwise, we are looking for something similar to these images posted here. 

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