Persian Fereghan Sarouk Rug, ca. 1910
Watch
GUEST:
It comes from my family. It could go a long way back. I had a sea captain in the family probably about four generations back or more, I wouldn't be surprised sometime after the 1700s, 1800s. He was a clipper ship captain, and we think he brought it over, and it got into the hands of my great-uncle.
APPRAISER:
And how long have you had it?
GUEST:
I remember on my mother and father's floor, they had it on the floor. It had to be 80 years ago. We've had it a long time.
APPRAISER:
Well, it's a very nice old rug. I would date it to about 1910. So your parents might have gotten it when they were fairly young.
GUEST:
Yeah, I bet they did.
APPRAISER:
Maybe even as a wedding gift. It's an antique Persian rug called a Fereghan Sarouk, and it's a particularly fine rug, very well woven. It's about four-and-a-half by six-and-a-half. They actually have a name for this size, which is called Dozar. And one of the things that's unusual is the signature that it has in the top border. And I had the signature translated, and it's "Order of Tavashkian," which was a wealthy Iranian family. So it's always very nice to have a signature like that. One of the things that's interesting about this rug is the color of the background. You'll notice that it's a very deep rose or burgundy color. That's actually not the original color. When these rugs were made originally, they were a lighter sort of salmony pink color, and the taste for decorating in the early 20th century was for much deeper colors, so they actually went to the trouble of re-dying every area of this rug which was red.
GUEST:
Is that right?
APPRAISER:
Now, what's unusual is that that was usually done to rugs of a later vintage, like 1920s, 1930s. It's unusual for us to see that done to a rug from close to 1900. Have you had it on your floor since you've owned it?
GUEST:
No, it's been rolled up in a dark closet.
APPRAISER:
That might explain why it's in such good condition. Usually when we see these rugs, they're quite worn.
GUEST:
Well, it was on my father and mother's floor, and when I got back from the war, I said, "You know, that's too nice a rug to have on the floor."
APPRAISER:
Well, I would estimate that in today's retail market, it would sell for around $6,000.
GUEST:
I guess that, uh, doesn't surprise me. I think having something that beautiful should be worth quite a bit of money.
APPRAISER:
It would have been a more desirable rug had it not been re-dyed, and I would say that the value would be closer to $10,000 had that re-dying process not taken place.
Appraisal Details
Executive producer Marsha Bemko shares her tips for getting the most out of ANTIQUES ROADSHOW.
Value can change: The value of an item is dependent upon many things, including the condition of the object itself, trends in the market for that kind of object, and the location where the item will be sold. These are just some of the reasons why the answer to the question "What's it worth?" is so often "It depends."
Note the date: Take note of the date the appraisal was recorded. This information appears in the upper left corner of the page, with the label "Appraised On." Values change over time according to market forces, so the current value of the item could be higher, lower, or the same as when our expert first appraised it.
Context is key: Listen carefully. Most of our experts will give appraisal values in context. For example, you'll often hear them say what an item is worth "at auction," or "retail," or "for insurance purposes" (replacement value). Retail prices are different from wholesale prices. Often an auctioneer will talk about what she knows best: the auction market. A shop owner will usually talk about what he knows best: the retail price he'd place on the object in his shop. And though there are no hard and fast rules, an object's auction price can often be half its retail value; yet for other objects, an auction price could be higher than retail. As a rule, however, retail and insurance/replacement values are about the same.
Verbal approximations: The values given by the experts on ANTIQUES ROADSHOW are considered "verbal approximations of value." Technically, an "appraisal" is a legal document, generally for insurance purposes, written by a qualified expert and paid for by the owner of the item. An appraisal usually involves an extensive amount of research to establish authenticity, provenance, composition, method of construction, and other important attributes of a particular object.
Opinion of value: As with all appraisals, the verbal approximations of value given at ROADSHOW events are our experts' opinions formed from their knowledge of antiques and collectibles, market trends, and other factors. Although our valuations are based on research and experience, opinions can, and sometimes do, vary among experts.
Appraiser affiliations: Finally, the affiliation of the appraiser may have changed since the appraisal was recorded. To see current contact information for an appraiser in the ROADSHOW Archive, click on the link below the appraiser's picture. Our Appraiser Index also contains a complete list of active ROADSHOW appraisers and their contact details and biographies.
