A picture of the underside (relatively close up, but not TOO) would help tremendously.

Lucy: I thought the last pic *was* the underside? Maybe I'm wrong, though.

If its for real--circa 1900--and in original shape, I would guess that it's value is in the thousands? The design is a little "off," though, in places, so I'm not too sure. Maybe rugman will happen by and give his opinion. :)

Beautiful rug, Meg. Reminds me of what I've seen of your house.

Lucy, I too thought the last photo was of the underside but I guess I should check. If that's the front, the pile is way too low for my taste.

Organic, the price is a tough one to stomach, but much like valinsv's recent rug, this one has been speaking to me. I forgot to mention that there has been some repair work but I'm not sure what was done. I was hoping that rugman would chime in although I appreciate how difficult it is to examine a rug online.

Squirrel, you said the perfect thing! When I first saw that rug, I was amazed at how much it reminded me of our livingroom Tabriz: (not the greatest photos):

The seller is willing to send it to me on approval and I'm almost afraid to see it. But if it doesn't look right, I still have the Tibetan (or is it from Nepal) rug. The styles are different but the colors are great together. (You'll have to take my word on that.):

So this is the one for your foyer then? It speaks of your house!

I guess you don't want to share the asking price for us to boggle over, that's fine, I'm just curious as to whether most would think it would be worth it. Personally, I think you pay quite a bit for a particular rug's beauty, so they're hard to compare. Not just personal taste-wise, but the beauty of its colors and pattern and the way they've come together. I find it 'especially harmonious,' too : ) It has a nice character about it, even the way it lays on the floor, lol. And I like the tonal variations throughout each color (dyeing method?)

Hi Squirrel,

Before I called the dealer, I had said to myself that if the price was below $x, I would buy it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be two or three times my mental budget. I actually said "ouch" when the seller told me the price so I don't know why I'm still thinking about it.

When you ask whether most would think it would be worth it, that's a tough one too, especially in today's financial times. Rugs are art and it's very hard for me to place a value on art. I know that some people pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for things that I would think are not worth it. Martha Stewart was talking today about a handbag as a life investment. I'd rather have a rug than a purse--but that's me.

The smaller rug is for our entry hall, and it seems to "go with" the other Tabriz, in my mind anyway. IRL, it might be too light, or the colors might not work in our dark entry hall. So maybe I should bite the bullet and get it out of my system. Who knows? I may hate it. But at least I won't regret not seeing it.

Squirrel, thanks as always for all your interest and advice. I've got a fire under my feet to get things done and there are tons of decisions to make. I really appreciate your help.

You're welcome : )

I'm vaguely remembering your lr rug now, if it ended up being the one that needed to be restored -- I'm wondering if they're too much the same??? Not necessarily a bad thing. Can't really remember clearly though.

Oh oh. They must be too similar. They're both pictured above.

The first four photos above are of the smaller rug that I'm looking at for our entry hall. It's a Tabriz with more of an ivory field.

The next two photos are of our livingroom rug. It's also a Tabriz and did need some repair work. (Good memory.) It has more bronze tones to it.

The final assymetrical piece of rug is a sample of a Tibetan rug that I was all set to order for our entry hall--until I stumbled upon that Tabriz.

This dealer has other pieces that had me drooling. What's interesting is that the Tabrizes probably started out as real reds but then, through washing or fading, they're now bronze. Well, I think that's interesting anyway.

No reputable rug person would give a price evaluation of an antique rug from a photo. If anyone does, I wouldn't trust them. Rugman registered on this site yesterday. You are in highly specialized territory on many levels.

If the rug is less than $4000 buy what you like and just be sure the condition is good enough to hold up where you would be using it. I don't put old rugs in high traffic areas such as an entry any more than I would display a piece of valuable glass in a spot where it could be knocked over.

I'm using $4000 as a dividing price because that's where antique rugs of any size and age that I've ever priced start -- depending. More or less. One person's experience.

If the rug is more than $4000, then it's essential to trust the person you're buying from and independently confirm that carpets of a similar size, origin and age have been sold for roughly the same price. With all due respect, that won't likely happen on the internet.

Thanks for your post goutgrec. I didn't realize that rugman only registered here yesterday. I could have sworn I've seen other posts by him/her in the past. Hmmm.

I'm not relying on rugman's assessment; just thought I'd throw it out there. If I buy that rug, I would have it examined by a local dealer who also does restoration work.

But you bring up an excellent point that I completely forgot about in the emotions of finding that rug: this is for the entry hall--a high traffic, potentially high dirt area. (When we bought the livingroom rug, we even said that at least it won't get a lot of traffic.) Now I'm thinking it might be foolhardy to buy that rug for the entry hall. More things to think about.

I appreciate your insight.

I haven't seen pics of your home yet so my appologies if this isn't in line with your thoughts or decor. Is there an option of using this rug as a tapestry? If it's to delicate for your entry hall it might be the perfect art for your wall. The size would work nicely in my home but as I said before I don't know what your home looks like. I just thought I would throw this option out there for you, it's a beautiful rug....

meg: As you know I couldn't even hazard a guess. Stylewise, it does seem to blend with your Tabriz--a bit different in a subtle way. I do agree with goutgrec if it's a high traffic area, it should hold up to it. Also, regarding rugman, tryin' said the same to me in an email. He said a lot of things that now I wonder about it--may well be true, but I guess we all need to formulate our own opinions (or seek the advice of a trusted local rug person). Any chance the person who did the work on your Tabriz can give you his professional opinion? In the last pic I thought it was the front which would be a concern to me. I'd definitely clarify that. Don't they usually take a pic showing a corner with it flipped back so you can see both back and front in same shot? Perhaps he could take a pic like that for you.

Hi all!

Kats--that's so funny that you should mention that because DH has suggested a tapestry for our entry hall wall--a huge 11 x 14 wall that's kind of hidden behind the chandelier chain.

It's above the entry to our livingroom (which is more like a sitting room since it's so small.) We were thinking of a more traditional tapestry but an older rug is soooo much better. (Can you tell I'm a bit rug-obsessed?)

The rug I'm considering for the entry hall might be too small for the wall. I'll have to look into it. I'm not sure what size I should be looking for on that wall, or whether I should be looking for multiple pieces. That spot isn't a high priority right now as we need so many other things but it's a great thought.

Val--I can't hazard a guess either. I just can't believe that I hadn't thought about the wear factor in the entry hall before now. But I guess if it's lasted this long, then who knows? I'm leaning more toward the Tibetan rug right now. I was worried about mixing styles but, at this point, I have so many different rug styles in our house that it probably shouldn't be a concern. It's the colors that are unifying everything. Well, hopefully. My original idea of sky blue and chocolate has taken a few turns along the way (it's now sapphire/peacock and bronze/caramel) but it still makes me smile when I see what I've picked so far.

Thanks for chiming in. I can't wait to read the next installment of your rug saga.

meg711,
OM! That rug framed directly over the passage into your sitting room would look amazing! Like any fine art, it doesn't have to fill the space, just enhance it.

I bought two semi antique rugs off Ebay about 3 years ago. One was a Mashad and is now in my dining room. It's thick and I really love it. The other, the first rug I got, was a Tabriz in a persimmon color. It's amazing in person, in color and design, but has a lot of wear. I used it in my same room when it was done as a living room. Don't remember exactly what I paid for either rug, but not more than about $160 apiece, and the shipping from that seller brought each rug purchase up to just about $300 total.

You see above, a corner of the Tabriz when my room was a living room painted warm pear. The rug was very low pile and very worn in some ways, yet beautiful.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/redbazel/GarageandTables006.jpg?t=1205083803">;

Here below, is the mashad, taken in the same room as I was converting to dining room.

I was going to update this thread and came across some posts I had never seen.

Those are wonderful rugs redbazel! Your rooms are beautiful too. I wish the rug was in that price range but it's not to be.

I emailed the seller and asked some more questions. He said that last photo is the FRONT of the rug and that the pile is purposely low to better show off the design. As I'm not fond of very low piled rugs, and I had concerns about using an older rug in the entry hall, I'm going to pass on this one.

I'm still toying with the idea of using it on the wall but the price tag is a consideration.