Rugs & Textiles

Tabriz Carpet, ca. 1900

Transcript

GUEST: Well, it belonged to my great-grandmother, who lived in Milwaukee on the lakeshore. And then, when the house was torn down, they moved and then gave the rug to my grandmother. Her house was west of Milwaukee.

APPRAISER: Shown here in the photograph?

GUEST: That, I think, was taken in the late '20s or '30s.

APPRAISER: Well, it s always great to have documentation like this. We know at least that it's from 1920.

GUEST: Oh, yes, yes...

APPRAISER: This is a Tabriz carpet woven in northwest Persia. And it emulates the style of the classical carpets that were woven in the late 16th and early 17th Century. It's about a nine by 12. And being from about 1900, it's right about when the revival of weaving in Persia was getting in full swing. And they take certain design elements from the classical carpet. But because it's being made 200 or 300 years later, it has its own feeling for the market of that day, because these were being woven for export. So, this cartouche that we see here at the top of the medallion probably would have originally had writing in it.

GUEST: Oh, really?

APPRAISER: But they've just done floral decoration now. The beautiful scalloped medallion exhibits some of the earth tones that are in the carpet, which are indicative of an earlier date. The later carpets would have been woven with synthetic dyes and would have been much more harsh.

GUEST: Ohh... Is this natural dye?

APPRAISER: Many of these dyes are natural. It's in a transition period where some are natural and some are synthetic. But overall, the feeling is with earth tones, and that's what's important for today's market. If you move down here, one of the most interesting aspects are the animals in the carpet, which go back to the early classical hunting carpets. And these animals also appeared in the miniature paintings from that same period. Now, the early examples also had riders on horseback that were shooting arrows.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: But, again, that has dropped out the design in this particular carpet. It's very finely woven.

GUEST: It's wool?

APPRAISER: It's all wool. It's in wonderful condition. I can't believe the condition that it's in. I can't find any worn spots.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: So you've certainly taken good care of it.

GUEST: We did have it moth-proofed.

APPRAISER: Well, that's good. I don't see any evidence of moth damage or wear.

GUEST: Oh, my.

APPRAISER: If I had this in my gallery, I would sell it for $25,000.

GUEST: Oh, my, really?

APPRAISER: Yes.