Northwest Persian Tribal Runner, ca. 1900
Watch
GUEST:
It's been in the family for years. I'm 70 years old, so it's older than that because I remember as a kid walking on it. It was my grandparents', who gave it to my uncle, and it was the one thing I really wanted and my cousin gave it to me. And I love it. I know it's Indian.
APPRAISER:
Well, actually it's not an Indian rug.
GUEST:
(laughing): Oh, okay, well, that tells you how much I know.
APPRAISER:
This is a rug that was woven in Persia.
GUEST:
Oh, really?
APPRAISER:
And it's a tribal rug.
GUEST:
Oh, neat, even better. Even better. I mean even better for me because I love oriental rugs.
APPRAISER:
Oh, okay, well, it falls into that category, but what's interesting, it's a cottage industry rug that was made for the marketplace by nomads who were trying to capture part of the marketplace.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And what I love about it, and what I love about these rugs in general is that they're very primitive and naive. And the women that were making them were left to their own devices because these were not expensive rugs in their day, and they could be creative. So in the case of this rug, there's a wonderful camel that's depicted right here.
GUEST:
Oh, I see it.
APPRAISER:
With a little person on top of the camel. And then in the border you have all these human figures.
GUEST:
Wow, yeah.
APPRAISER:
Through the border, all the way up and down. So the reason that these rugs are very geometric is because they are coarsely woven.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
And so even though they might like to do a realistic interpretation of a tree or a flower, it's like pixels on a computer. There's so few knots per square inch that everything ends up being geometric. It has a great range of natural dyes and there's just a real exuberance to the design and a primitive quality that is more apropos to today's market than the more fancy rugs you might be familiar with. There's this amazing macramé end finish that is done in undyed brown wool.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And this is yet another indication of the fact that they were a small production that had enough brown sheep on hand that they could come up with that amount of wool for their warp threads. Now, one of the things that helps us date a piece like this is the dyes. And the majority of these dyes are natural dyes, but there's one synthetic dye that dates back to the 19th century, and it's called fuchsine. There's a aspect to the dye where if you fold the pile back, and if you look at the root of the knot?
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Do you see how it's purple?
GUEST:
Yeah!
APPRAISER:
So this dye was introduced in the 1860s, and it faded from a purple to a beige.
GUEST:
Oh, so these used to be purple.
APPRAISER:
That used to be bright purple.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And that actually is an assist to our dating the rug because if this rug were 60 or 70 years old, that dye wasn't even in use anymore.
GUEST:
Oh, really, so it's really old.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, so this is about a 1900 rug.
GUEST:
Right, wow.
APPRAISER:
Well it's in strikingly good condition for its age. Now in terms of value, I would say that in today's market, if you had to go out and buy a rug like this, you'd have to pay about $4,000 retail.
GUEST:
I'm... I'm sure. (laughing) I... I buy oriental rugs, I got it.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, so you have a newfound appreciation for the rug.
GUEST:
Absolutely.
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.
