Kirman Carpet ca. 1910

Appraised on: June 20, 1998

Appraised in: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Appraised by: Mark Topalian

Category: Rugs & Textiles

Episode Info: Big & Little (#1320)

Originally Aired: December 21, 2009

IMAGE: 1 of 3  

Appraisal Video: (-1:-4:17)

GUEST: Well, it was purchased by my great-grandparents back near the turn of the century.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. And it's been in the family ever since.

GUEST: Right.

APPRAISER: Now, have they been using it on the floor all these years?

GUEST: My great-grandparents used it on their floor for probably 30 years, and then when they passed on, my grandparents moved it into their summer home. It's seen wet hunting dogs, it's seen sick babies, it's seen bachelor parties. My family has really lived on this rug for about 80 years.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. Because I would say it's in very good condition for an item of this age. This is a Kirman carpet. It's woven in Southeast Persia. It dates from around the turn of the century, probably around 1910 or so. Right around the turn of the century they started introducing chemical or aniline dyes. Something prior to this would have softer tones or palette. This item is woven in what's termed as a garden design. Now, a garden design by definition is a large-scale pattern of lozenges. And in this instance we have larger palmettes and all-over floral vinery that is interspersed with the garden design, which is a very pleasing effect. We have this light blue stripe running through the rug in a horizontal frame. This is what we term as abrash. When the item was being woven, they used different dye lots of wool, and the different dye lots aged differently. So over the 70 or 80 years, naturally the disparity in these colors has been more defined as opposed to when the item was originally made. An item like this would probably bring, on the auction market, between $25,000 and $35,000.

GUEST: Wow. That's significant.

APPRAISER: Mm-hmm. So I think it's a good thing to keep in the family.

GUEST: Okay. Thank you.

APPRAISER: Thank you very much for bringing it in.