Late 19th-Century Kuba Rug
Watch
GUEST:
My husband and I went to an auction in 1982. And it was very late in the afternoon and it was raining, and it was cold. And the auctioneer threw it on top of a bunch of blankets. And I started getting real nervous because I saw what it was. And then he said, "I'm going to put this beautiful oriental rug in with it." And it was one of those horrible souvenir things with buffalo on it. And I realized he had no idea that this was the oriental, so then I really got excited.
APPRAISER:
What did it go for?
GUEST:
Twelve dollars. But I was approached by the lady bidding against me and she bought the ugly buffaloes and gave me six dollars.
APPRAISER:
So that reduced your cost to six dollars.
GUEST:
That's right.
APPRAISER:
The rug that we have here is a late 19th century Kuba. And it's a rug that was woven in the Caucasus, which is a mountainous region in southwestern Russia. And it's a beautiful example of this period. Well, these rugs are a very interesting tradition. They are a village rug and they spring from a design and a weaving tradition that goes back to the 17th century in Caucasian workshops. A couple things I want to point out. First of all, the colors on the back are much brighter than the front. And the pinkish color and the orange color are two synthetic dyes that they used in the late 19th century. And that helps us date it to the late 19th century. And you'll notice that the colors have faded on the front to a much softer pink and a much softer orange. It has some wear here and there, which could be easily restored. I think it's really a very good rug. I would say that after cleaning it-- which it is desperately in need of-- and doing a little bit of minor restoration, it would sell for between $3,000 and $3,500.
GUEST:
That's very nice. Thank you.
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.
