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We love coming to work and checking out the inbox to see what we've received. Below is a standard evaluation we provide the public here at Rug Rag. We now have a new form for submitting inquiries on rug values and other questions. Take some time and drop us a line!
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Question:
Dear Sir,
I would like to have this rug verified. I am
considering buying it from a retail showroom on "50% off sale." The seller
has written on its tag that it is a Sarouk Mahajaran from the 1910s. His
sale price is $3,000. This rug is 16' 9" long and 11' 5" width.
Enclosed are pictures.
-anonymous
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Response:
Please do bear in mind, while we make comments within which may
seem forward looking or critical, we make notes as we see it. Tips for
the inspection are not to scare or intimidate from purchase, just to
help you be more informed on what to look for. We try to help out as
much as we can so you can make a better purchasing decision, and have
the tools to do so later too.
Clearly this is an attractive carpet, however, when it comes to
value & condition, aesthetics are one of many facets. We are making
some assumptions such as ends being fully intact, corners complete,
good selvages, a usable carpet which is clean and proper, etc. It is
an old rug, so many of the small things are going to be forgivable, the
objective is you know what are the points to negotiate if necessary,
and if it's the right carpet for you.
Verification
General, overall review:
Reviewing
information as relayed from you by the vendor, it seems as though
they've made a good faith effort in describing the genre, and approx.
vintage. As we noted in the verification, in 10 ten years from now,
certainly the rug will be 100 years old (antique). Vintage 1910 is
somewhat debatable. Value range is very difficult to ascertain without
seeing in person. The asking price seems reasonable and fair pending a
more careful inspection. For insurance, you're
looking at ~ $5,000 - 7,000. Auction you never know what the result
may
be especially depending on location and crowd, perhaps ~ $2,000, but
auctions often have their disadvantages and the retail seems fair
providing...
Tips for inspection
No
offense to the seller, but the best way to review the carpet with them
out of sight. Shouldn't take you too long, but it's best not to have
someone else looking over your shoulder or agressively persuading
before you can make your own deductions. Below are some serious and
some not so serious points to consider. They may help confirm it's a
good carpet, perhaps provide leverage, or dismiss consideration
entirely. After you review the rug a second time, let us know if you
noted anything of concern, we'll try to help out. If everything checks
out, you should be fine.
The rug has overcasting, just ensure this has not been dropped or is loose anywhere. Tug on some of the fringe to see if it pops at all.
Inspection from the face of the rug: This is an older carpet and
does show signs of use. Although the wear in some areas appears to go
down to the knot heads, be sure to look specifically for exposed foundation which may have been markered in these low lying areas. As seen in image S1 attached, it appears as though the rug has white knots.
Do check these out. If they are secure, you're fine and you shouldn't
mind them. However, some dealers cut these under the knot node which
can drop a warp or cause loose strands/lost knots and even a hole. Not
a good thing. Just make sure no small holes are adjacent.
Inspection for reverse of the rug: Have them flip the entire rug
upside-down. Watch (and listen) as they do this, if you note they
handle the rug in an awkward way, or you hear noises or see stiff spots
when in motion, note and check. Every square foot of this type of rug
should be soft and malleable. Looking for problems such as dry rot can
be tricky, but is one of the most important things to check. The best
way to do this is roll the carpet or gather select suspect areas crease
in several directions. Do not apply too hard a pressure if you hear
cracking or think it may crack. It may do just that. This indicates
the rug has a bad area of dry rot and will be more susceptible to
damage and prohibitively costly repairs. I would keep track of all
areas you're in question of, then afterwards ask the seller to
manipulate the rug harder if you're concerned it may break.
Look for previous splits, cracks, tears, holes and areas which
appear stitched or otherwise repaired. Don't miss the ends or edges.
If anything is affixed to the back of the rug, try to feel under it or
deduct why it may be there. Check for 'grids' of horizontal and
vertical warp/weft on the back, this could be indicative of moth damage
or wear to the reverse. In some cases this could lead to loss of
pile. On the fourth image down on the verification
page, we cannot say for sure, but in the blue this may be a very small
area of reweave. Not a problem if that area is or is not, but the
point in case is this is how subtle some underlying issues can be.
Let us know if you have any other questions, it's a great looking carpet at what seems to be a fair price. Keep us updated!
- 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
See More From "The InBox"
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.
Click here for The InBox Disclaimer
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