Try asking Sheba at blueparakeetrugs.com. She's extremely knowledgeable about vintage and antique rugs.

Could you keep it long enough for a kid to graduate from college and move in someplace that needs a big rug?

Surely there is SOMEWHERE we can help you place that beauty. If nothing else, it would look amazing under your bed.

We purchased some 'antiques' when we lived in L.A. and S.F. and learned over the years that we paid double or more than what the item was really worth. The same may have happened to your MIL. Did you call rug dealers when you were seeking an estimate? We have a local rug dealer (Atiyeh) that sells rugs but also will clean and appraise them. I would call some dealers and if they're not nearby ask if they will work off photos in appraising the rug. As for selling it, consider some consignment shops.

Be careful in storing it. I have a wool rug I rolled up and stored for a year in my temp controlled home. Got it out to be cleaned and discovered carpet moths. They had done damage to an edge of the rug and about 12" into the design, but after it was cleaned one now has to look closely to see the damage. It's new home is now in my walk-in closet. I've learned the hard way that rugs should be cleaned before being stored and a reputable dealer will then wrap the rug in paper if you intend to store it.

It's a huge rug and few people will have the right place for it. If it were me, I'd accept a price I was happy with and let it go to it's new home.

That is a beautiful rug Pink Peony. Appraising an antique rug is a hard one at least it is for me! Haha. I have a couple of smaller red ones. Unfortunately at the moment the more muted colored Persian rugs are more desirable but it doesn’t mean that a red rug can’t be very valuable. The below I thought was an interesting short video.

https://youtu.be/qd1Kq1EWOhE

Here a few that may be able to offer you some advice at least. Don’t know where you are located.

https://kingshouseorientalrugs.com/blog/why-is-an-appraisal-necessary/

https://hiller-restorations.com/

https://capitalrugcleaning.com/rug-appraisal/

My advice? The best place to store it is on your living room floor underneath your furniture. Keeping it rolled up in your closet is a travesty. To sell it on eBay for peanuts or donate it for a tax write-off would be a tragedy.

The value in a fantastic rug like that is that it's in your possession, for you to grace your house with or pass it onto a kid or niece or nephew when they buy a house of their own. You'll get so little selling it compared to how much it's actually worth (to a rug dealer) it's not worth parting with.

Do you know how much a comparable Persian rug is new? I'm in the market for a few of them for my hyper traditional Victorian (my parents won't share because they know what they have), and I dared to look at the price tag of one very much like yours.... TWENTY SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS!! And yours is an antique in excellent condition!

Oh, so it's "just not your style"? Well change your style to suit your epic rug. You don't need stuffy grandma furniture - these rugs are amazing with minimal modern decor too. The reason these things are not in style because if everyone keeps inheriting timelessly beautiful oriental rugs and remains aware of their beauty and value, then the home decoration industrial complex can't sell you a new Chinese-made nylon garbage rug every season.

Okay... better stop posting before I get too angry. You have NO idea how much I'd love to get my hands on a rug like that. At this point, I can't even afford the eBay peanut price. And you already have one.

PS: I don't think that rug is 16'x18' - going from the scale offered by the five gallon bucket in the one pic, it's probably closer to 10'x14' or something (which I could totally fit in my living room). Measure with a tape measure or something.

Featured home in NY Times T magazine. View slide show for the very eclectic rooms

2018 Home

If you are thinking of posting on eBay, take a look at the seller Gallery99, they have a lot of similar rugs.

I have to say that I completely disagree with the notion that rugs like this aren't in style. Obviously it is harder to place anything in that high price range but as Helen notes and as evidenced here on Houzz they are very commonly used by top designers in all kinds of homes. As to the colors, oriental carpets are essentially used as neutrals. You could lay almost any color scheme on that baby and it would bring the room up several notches. I would lay it corner to corner if the rooms are that small. We are just so used to seeing rugs that go just under the front legs of furniture that we don't realize it is often because people can't AFFORD larger rugs.

As far as the size of the rug it was measured. My husband measured it when we laid it out on the attic floor. For reference that attic space is 18’ x 24’. The measurements arent exact because i can’t remember what we measured it at but by not exact i mean it isn’t exactly even footage. But yes it was close to 16’ X 18’ . So it could be 15’5” X 17’2” for example. The norm for handmade rugs to not measure evenly. Honestly it isn’t the style i mind it’s the red. I REALLY DISLIKE the color red. I don’t wear it. It’s nowhere in my home Or wardrobe or even my landscaping. It’s one of my least favorite colors right up there with purple which i also really dislike LOL! So for me it isn’t as easy as changing my style . If you dislike something why should you live with it?

As far as putting it under my bed the rug is larger than my bedroom LOL! In fact the rug is Really too large for all the rooms in the house. This is the same reason we couldn’t use it in our last home. No rooms were large enough to house it. Now don’t get crazy and tell me to custom build a home to fit the rug LOL!

I realize i wouldn’t have to use traditional furnishings with it. My mother in laws home was all Mid Century modern. The original.....built in 1963 she has/had all the original team MSM furnishings of that time period and I’m fact in her smaller home now she still has many of them. Along with many of these rugs. This one was too large but she still has 4 that i know of in more reasonable sizes.

Thank you for the names of some rug places to check out.

Maybe get in touch privately with QueenVictorian over there and just see if y'all could work something out? she obviously would love and cherish your rug. ;)

I don’t get notified of threads I don’t start, only likes and thankyou on other threads. :/

That is one very large rug Pink Peony! Shame you don’t like red, it is beautiful. Just because of the unusual size could make it a bit rarer and more valuable, I don’t know. Definitely worth checking it out though if you just can’t use it.

If you do learn anything it would be interesting to learn what you find out if you could let us know. But you would have to like my comment so I could be sure to find this thread. Lol

Unfortunately, the market for vintage/used items which are no longer trendy is extremely weak. I just finished a remodel/redesign of my condo and I literally had problems giving away some gorgeous antique stuff that I had inherited from my grandmother and mother.

I would have loved to keep it but it made no sense to keep anything but those items which still worked with my new design.

I have a Joseph Hoffman Loveseat and chair which I still love but doesn't work and I thought for sure some used furniture or consignment store in Los Angeles would be interested but I got absolutely no interest in them.

I have two Chinese Art Deco rugs which I don't think I will be able to use and it is absolutely KILLING me that I can't find a place for them. And I actually LOVE them - unlike poor Pink Peony who doesn't like red - Hi there Pink Peony.

I understand what Pink Peony is going through. I have boxes of stuff that I packed away for my gut remodel and I don't know what the heck I am going to do with it all in terms of moving in. I have my Fiesta - I have my grandmother's Limoges for 16 - I have my mother's Stangl. And that's just the china LOL.

Not to hijack but there is so much cheap stuff available that most people don't want the older stuff that is out of trend. As for quality, most people can't recognize quality. I am stunned when I google for certain items and the stuff is SO CHEAP - I mean there are rugs for $300 and bedroom sets for $600 and sofas for $300.

According to some "in the know", certain rugs would only increase in value with time. The reason is really tragic...Entire villages have been wiped out...Master carpet weavers, who only became masters after years of apprenticeship, and to whom the knowledge was passed from the older masters, generations of knowledge, are no more...There are regions after regions who have been devastated by recent unrest and wars...People were uprooted...It's a sad, sad story...

Of course, to be absolutely sure of the value, you need to speak to the right people. Good luck and please let us know what you decide!

P.S. My aunt told me this story a few times. In 1994, she made a trek to the "other" part of the city to buy something she had in mind. She just got her first ever paycheck from her first ever paying job. It wasn't the place to go alone to, being a young Jewish girl in Jerusalem, you could easily be knifed there...She bought a pair of two antique silver side tables, which were hand-made and beautiful. Those tables had a story too (they were from Syria). An old Syrian gentleman was selling them. Of course, she haggled, as you're expected to, and brought them back home. The tables were quite valuable back then, and now the are in the just unable to attain category. For obvious reasons...She still has them and has been asked many times to sell them, but she wouldn't. Sentimental reasons and all that....

Omg Helen I just love Chinese Art Deco rugs

have either of you looked in to Chairish or 1st dibs? There seems to be a hot market for vintage and antique there. The sellers don't appear to be individuals, mostly antique dealers and a few furniture makers. Might connect you with people in your area capable of moving the type of things you have.

Following>>> Pink, funny, I wasn't fond of reds before, but now am thinking about using it in the new house>> blues -nope; last house had alot of green.. Hubby's brother & sil- would love yr rug as they have a few smaller ones in their house.

My first two homes had red. You know the popularity of Ralph Lauren Barn Red paint back in 1993. Yep family room was painted in it. Then when we built our second home MIL gave me this rug so i felt obligated to use it. So i did more red . Here is the thing my homes were beautiful but i never got a “calm feeling.” That may not make sense to some but for me i like soothing calm. I love white and if i could would probably do every single thing white. But for the style of living we do it doesn’t make much sense to battle trying to keep white pristine although i do use it and have two slip covered sofas in it etc. My go to color has always been blue. Really just about any shade of blue appeals to me. It has been in every home I’ve owned and I’ve always tried to bring other colors on board to compliment it. Hence the red. But in The end i just want blue and white LOL!

I had to google Chinese Art Deco rugs and some of them are quite amazing and beautiful! I never knew that was a rug style, but I like it a lot more than the other traditional rug style.

Also, I love Chairish, and recently bought some dining chairs from there. Prices run the gamut, but I found some nice items that were a reasonable price for a regular person like me.

Helen, I understand your point about cheap items, and I read it all the time on Houzz from pros about not buying cheap stuff and invest in "quality" pieces. Even "quality brand" 2nd hand items can cost more than some new items. But the reality is that's what most people can afford when they need a couch and it's hard to save up when you need a place to sit down.

Pink what did you decide to do with your rug? Have beautiful Persian rugs on my mind because of another thread and remembered your thread.

Well no news on the rug. Spoke to a rug dealer who thought maybe it was KariStan??? Or something like that. But he said he really didn’t know but if he had to guess the value was between$3500 and $5000. The whole conversation we had with him was him hemming and hawing about how he wasn’t sure. So it was a complete waste of our time. He did say it needed restoring as the edge had some fading and there were some worn spots here and there. He also said that since the fading was on one side he could just cut the rug down and make it smaller For only $800-1500. That’s when we walked. He was clueless.

I guess one way to find out how much it's worth is to post it on eBay or a rug collectors' site (if there are any--try Googling) and put a hefty price tag on it--maybe like $15,000--and see what happens. I would think rug dealers in the know keep an eye on sales like this. If you don't get any bites, chances are it's not worth that much. If you're offered a good price, it's up to you to decide if it's worth making some money and no longer having to store it, but risking that you could have sold it for more than that. Here's a link to eBay "palace" size Persian rugs for sale to give you an idea of what people are asking.persian rugs

Karistan? https://www.karastan.com/rugs?page=1

Are you sure you can’t learn to love red? :- ) It can be a great “neutral” and looks amazing with blue!

Or layer another rug over it to cut some of the red?

On eBay, Karastan rugs of roughly the same size are going from ~ $600 - $3000.

If you don't like it and will never use it, sell it for what you can get for it. Stored in your closet it will only depreciate. If moths get to it, it will be worth a lot less.

If it is a Karastan worth only a few thousand tops, it makes your decision much easier.

I have been checking out the "one room challenge" and see that these rugs are coming back in fashion. That may help you sell it despite the size.

I’m certain it isn’t Karastan. He also said it was antique, Karastan started in 1928. he also said it was hand made (Karastan is not its loom made) he also said it was silk and wool (Karastan isn’t made with silk) so basically the guy was an idiot and everything he said i googled and disproved. Frustrating. The guy was a waste of time.

Laura , no to the red and even if i loved it i don’t have a room it would fit in.

Shame about that useless guy Pink. Perhaps you could try online with loads of photos? I agree about suggesting ebay. But it does sound like you would need an idea of its value first and know what it is you have.

Totally agree with Laura Hill and others. I do think Persian rugs have always been in style, cant imagine anyone thinking a one of hand knotted rug like a piece of art isn’t special. I think they may be becoming more fashionable with everyone though now becuase IMO people are appreciating the quality over massed produced machine made in China!

If you don't like and can't use it, sell it. It doesn't matter if you don't get the "true" value from it. You'll get enough to buy a rug (or RUGS) that you like and will work in your home. You can talk to lots of rug dealers and they'll ALL give you lowball prices. There really isn't a market for selling these unless someone loves your rug -- a lot. I gave away rugs I brought from my previous house because they will not work in my new farmhouse. There are many young couples that would be eternally grateful for this rug - and will love it. Don't feel guilty about giving it away to a needy young person starting out, or selling it for less than the perceived value. You're getting too wrapped up - and guilty -about a RUG. Let it go. Enjoy your new home and your own design sense. Don't let your family guilt-trip you about a rug.

I was offered $800 for my Qum (5x7) that I paid $2,500 for in 1974 (New Orleans.) It is rolled up under my bed with moth balls between the layers. I had it appraised in the 90's and was told $10K, but that's a fantasy number in today's market. If Iraq ever goes down, rug prices may come up but that is a fantasy idea too. You might find a new use for it; lease it to a local stager who works in your realty market.

Try listing it on Chairish. You can specify local pick up to avoid shipping but the buyer usually pays shipping. Check out their website. chairish.com

So gorgeous! I frequently see antique persian rugs listed on craigslist. They are listed from anywhere from $100 to thousands. Since it's free, and people don't have to deal with shipping, you could list it for a price you'd be excited about and see if you get any bites.

It is true that it's particularly large, but someone like me who needs a very large Persian would be thrilled to find one that big and as long as you don't live in a rural area, I think there's a decent chance you may find a buyer.

I would say that if it's true that it has fading and needs some restoration that will affect the price considerably. I have several persian rugs I paid very little for because I really like pre-distressed rugs. Had they been in perfect shape I could not have afforded them.

pink_peony-

You will get a lot less than you think because there is a big, big boo-boo in your rug.

Look at the third photo.

In the vertical herati main border which is grounded in midnight blue, the palmette is cut off and not complete, and the vertical and horizontal main herati borders aren't continuous.

Persian rugs for the most part have excellent workmanship and quality control.

This is really shocking, because quality control is usually so good in a Persian carpet.

Of course that corner of the rug can be hidden under a piece of furniture, but it greatly, greatly brings the price of the rug down.

In addition, you mentioned that the size of this rug is 16 x 18.

Assuming you measured it correctly, Persian rugs just don't come in those even sizes with no inches to spare.

Taken together, these two factors make me think this rug was made elsewhere- the shoddy workmanship, and the made to measure size.

Wherever you do place it for sale, please do point out the mismatched border, the rug needs to be sold "as is."

But please, get another opinion on this.

It looks like a repair to me. It is covering the top of that motif. It would obviously effect the value but would still be desirable. The back of the rug looks quality to me. It would be interesting to know its age and how many knots an inch it has.

It may only be worth a few thousand but I would have it checked out and find out what it is.

There are many valuable antique oversized rugs.

Just a random antique 16x18

Loobab i have no clue what you’re talking about. LOL! None. Those terms you’re using mean nothing to me. Maybe someone can show me where the defect is? As for size it isn’t a even measurement . I mention that further down in the thread when someone said the rug isn’t as large as i said (Which it isn’t upon further measurement. But still huge) It in fact measures very unevenly but i was putting up approximates. For example it’s 15’3” x 17’ 5” or something like that.

It's a gorgeous rug, and even the obvious repair does not detract from its beauty. I personally can't imagine having that rug and not using it someway, somehow -- but I also gave away a beautiful, traditional handmade rug that I paid close to $4k for, just after we moved and I thought it didn't work in my current home. I disagree to an extent that rugs such as this are out of vogue; I think they never went out of style in many places, and I've even seen a lot of old, traditional rugs such as yours used in high-end homes in places like Santa Fe. People love the workmanship and the way they work so well in eclectic interiors. I'm no longer on Instagram, but when I was I followed a number of vintage rug sellers, who seemed to generate a great deal of interest -- although their most popular rugs seemed to be those with a decided tribal influence. Yours lacks that particular style, but it is still oh-so-very-delicious in my opinion.

That said, I would think that rug is not going to bring $$$$$ if you do try to sell it. But you can always advertise it and start high, as long as you're willing to negotiate. I understand that you'd like to have a firm appraisal in hand, but sounds like that's been impossible to come by thus far. Good luck in whatever you decide to do with the rug.

I do understand Pink's dilemma as I am overwhelmed by the items that I had to get rid of before my remodel and currently those which are still boxed up in my living room. I had to get rid of the bulky items of furniture prior to the remodel and at the last minute found a friend whose brother wanted the stuff.

But now I have stuff and I don't know the value. It's not and ascertaining the value is a Herculean task but it becomes overwhelming - and so the boxes sit. If I had an attic or a basement, the boxes would sit there and my laughing heirs could dispose of them as they want.

And then there are the boxes containing the following - large plastic bin containing embroidered table cloths done by my grandmother; large plastic bin containing needlepoint done by my grandmother; large plastic bin containing crewel work curtains; bedspread; valances; hanging done by my mother; plastic bin containing hand made quilts done by my mother - and a bin of various old textiles including two genuine paisleys from the 19th century - and those are just the textile bins :-).

Any not meant to hijack but just to commiserate

It seems bizarre that a true rug dealer would get this wrong, but I think he meant “Kashan” and not “Karastan.” You were correct to walk away. In addition, no reputable rug dealer would suggest cutting down a rug that has only minor damage. Edges can be rebound, worn areas reweaved, etc. Also, an “unreconciled” corner is not an immediate down grade in quality.

I envy you both the textiles in your possession! Helen, you might look into donating the paisleys to a museum (Costume Institute at the Met, the Smithsonian which has a large costume collection) and taking a tax deduction.

@elunia - I don't think the paisleys are valuable enough to merit donation. If I (or someone else) had the right decor going and creative abilities, they could probably be repurposed brilliantly :-).

My items are betwixt and between just as my old clothing is. I don't have couture clothing but I have loads of stuff from the 1980's when I was a clothes horse who spent my weekends shopping. They would be coveted by the right girl who was into vintage clothing but finding them a home is a daunting prospect.

I did manage to finally use my NYC Public School brass doorknobs that my mother took home in the 1950's when the school she worked at was remodeled :-). So that's one for the repurposing :-).

@Helen, what about a university with a costume/textile program? They will usually have a study collection to use for research and display. Do you know the provenance of the shawls? Condition? Are they earlier or later 19th century?

@ Helen: you may want to start a new post on what to do with your household textiles and clothing. A title such as "what to do with heirloom textiles?" could get some helpful responses, especially if you have a photo or two.

I hadn't meant to be so specific - just commiserating with Pink because one accumulates stuff and finding a place for it becomes so burdensome that the easiest thing to do is just to avoid the issue. Just figuring out the value of something can be a whole long process.

elunia, your Kashan statement piqued my interest. As y’all can most likely tell i know nothing about rugs at all ;-) so when one of brings up something I’m over here googling it. So when elunia said Kashan I googled it and find the history plus pictures. I have to say again I’m no expert but the similarity in photos from the example they had to mine are quite striking. I compiled this side by side comparison. My rug is the three photos on the left compared to the three photos on the antique Kashan site.

All I can say is that my heart aches...I don't know if anyone on here will understand me...My family had survived Holocaust, communism, you name it! I wish something, at least a little *something* was passed down to me, but nothing...The sad reality of life...My wonderful, strong grandmother traded the silver set, that was given to her as a wedding set, for food...that happened when she evacuated to Kazakhstan with her younger children, while my grandfather was at the war, and her oldest son was at the war too. There was a big part of our family that stayed behind, didn't evacuate, and they all perished. Well, some of my family survived, and that is why I exist today.

My husband's family story is a little different, and yet similar in many ways.

To overcompensate, we have been accumulating certain things like crazy :)!. I hope the day when my children will reject my things and throw them out will never come. Here is hoping :).

Hamma, your story resonates strongly with me. I know you know this, but it‘s worth repeating, the legacy is passed down even without the physical manifestations. I know the strange heartache of stuff lost, knowing it doesn‘t matter, but still longing for what it represents to the family, namely the absence of the disaster that percipitated the loss.

So true, Zalco! You said it very well!

I also think it's important (if you have those heirloom pieces), to have them out/display them/use them, whatever, etc. not just have them stored away and forgotten. After all, they tell a story....

A few years ago, I interviewed some surviving elderly family members and made a cookbook based on their recipes. Had it printed and bound, and sent it out to my family members...It's being used and enjoyed, from what I was told! Building my family tree has been an ongoing project for quite a while too...

Anyway, didn't mean to divert the conversation, just wanted to share...

^^^^^^^ Thank you :-)