American Hook Rug, ca. 1920
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GUEST:
Years ago, my husband and I went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for an exhibition, and on the way home, we passed this little antique shop, and I wanted to stop. He didn't, but we stopped-- I won. (chuckling) Nothing of the, in the shop was of value, but this was hanging on the railing outside. And I said to my husband, "I absolutely love that rug. I've got to find out how much it is." So I went in to see the gentleman, and he said, "The rug's $100." And I said, "Are you sure?" He said, "Yes, it's a good rug." I wanted the rug.
APPRAISER:
Early 20th century, there was a trend of collecting Oriental rugs in the United States. People collected paintings, tapestries, furniture, also collected great rugs. And as a result, other people thought, "Hmm, we have this tradition of American hooked rugs. We could use those designs and create..." Basically, not really reproductions, but our own variations on what Eastern rugs looked like.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
They were really originally sold as kits. Circa 1920, you'd buy the burlap backing and it would have a pattern stenciled on it, but then you'd get your own wools and you'd get your own fabrics, and do the hooking yourself. And so whoever did this went out and very specifically bought the proper yarns. I think, just because the color's so consistent throughout, it's obviously not scrap material that's been used.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
But you can see a few a spots where they have filled in. There's a deeper red through here.
GUEST:
I can see it, yeah.
APPRAISER:
There's a purple, and I originally thought, "Hmm, some restoration." But when you look at the back of the rug and really look at the consistency of the yarn itself...
GUEST:
They ran out of this red, so they transitioned to the other?
APPRAISER:
Absolutely, absolutely.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And that's a really nice aspect of things, because hooked rugs really come out of a Folk Art tradition, so it's nice to have those kind of homey touches that are coming into the rug itself. This example's in extremely good condition, with very, very good color retention. I think it would have a retail price of $8,000.
GUEST:
$8,000?
APPRAISER:
$8,000.
GUEST:
Oh, my goodness. That... that is remarkable, and certainly far beyond what I've ever expected. I have loved this for the years that I've had it, and, actually, I tried to give it to one of my girls, and she said no, and I bet she regrets it right now! (laughing)
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