Karabagh Rug, ca. 1920
Watch
APPRAISER:
Betsy, you tell me that this rug resided on the third floor of your grandmother's house?
GUEST:
Of my grandmother's house, I think for at least 20 years, and maybe longer. And when she died, I got it when we divided up the estate, and I just always loved the colors. So I've had it about 30 years.
APPRAISER:
And you've been using it all that time?
GUEST:
Yep, it's been in living rooms and kitchens.
APPRAISER:
Do you have any idea where the rug was made?
GUEST:
I know nothing about it, which is why we brought it. I don't know very much about oriental rugs and they're hard to sort of take around and get an evaluation.
APPRAISER:
Yes, well, the rug is a Karabagh, and that is a Caucasian rug woven in the mountains of southern Russia. And there's a particular name for this design, which is called a "Kasim Usag." Now, that might be hard to understand, and it's hard for us to understand as well because there's really no documented village by that name. And most of the rugs that are woven we like to attribute to a certain village or at least nomadic group. Now, in this region, there were Kurds that had been exiled in the 17th century by the various shahs that were in power at that time, and it's believed that the Kurds are the ones that made this rug. Now, the thing that's most interesting about this is the curled-leaf design. It dates back to 17th-century embroideries.
GUEST:
Oh, wow.
APPRAISER:
And from the 17th-century embroideries where it's thought that even before it was a leaf form, it came from dragon floral carpets, it is then found in 18th-century floral carpets. And so it's always wonderful to have this graduation of design, and then you find yourself into the 19th century and the early 20th century, and you have a production like this, which is woven in a village.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
There are a couple of reasons why I think that this is probably early 20th century. It has a couple of synthetic dyes in it. There's a pink color that is synthetic, and then there's also an orange color that is synthetic, and that puts it firmly in the early 20th century for this group of rugs. Basically, it's in very, very good condition. I would assign a retail value in the area of $8,000.
GUEST:
Oh, wow!
APPRAISER:
Yes.
GUEST:
Oh, my Lord.
APPRAISER:
If this rug had been woven in the 19th century and had essentially the same sort of design, it would have been worth two to three times as much to a collector.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
And that's a big thing to know about antique rugs, is whether they fall into a collectible category or more of a decorative category.
GUEST:
Oh, okay, okay.
APPRAISER:
So this is more than likely, if this were on the market, it would be bought by somebody who was decorating because a collector would hold out for a 19th-century example that had all natural dyes.
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.
