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Upload photos of your rug and receive a professional appraisal — Persian, oriental and antique rugs valued quickly, reliably and fully online
Please note: Valuations typically take 24-48 hours to complete after submission.
A rug appraisal is valuable for insurance, estate planning, buying/selling, legal purposes, donations, and understanding a rug's historical significance.
In all these scenarios, it's essential to seek the services of a qualified and reputable rug appraiser, ideally one who specializes in the type of rug you own. This ensures an accurate and reliable appraisal.
Use our qualified appraiser service for accurate and reliable results.
No single clue settles the valuation of a hand-knotted Persian or oriental rug: an expert reads many together and lets each check the others. Age weighs more than most and is among the hardest to judge, calling for an eye trained on a great many rugs.
A new rug is valued from what it would cost to weave today, then from its wool, dyes and foundation, the harmony of its colours, the rarity of its design, the evenness of its weave (a large piece needs several weavers keeping one pace and tension) and how straight and symmetrical it is. A semi-antique, up to roughly 60–70 years old, adds condition, judged by degree: a small, discreet mend is usually accepted; a major repair cuts the value sharply. An antique, over 100 years old, adds age itself and artistry, and rarity counts far more than in younger rugs.
Wear on the front can mislead: a well-kept antique may keep a full pile, while a new rug may be clipped low to look old or, if poorly made, wear thin early. The back says more. Decades of footsteps leave an old back looking polished, and a very old one can feel gritty, while a young back still looks fuzzy. A fine weave grown supple also suggests age. Repairs, too, show best from the back. Rugs of great age often carry some, so one sold as antique with none deserves a second look, though a long-stored rug may never have needed any.
Parting the pile shows each colour from tip to base. If the shade deepens markedly towards the base, light has probably faded a synthetic dye, so the rug is unlikely to predate the late 19th century. Natural dyes, near-universal until the 1860s, mellow gently and evenly. Colour aged by treatment looks drained, its shade stopping in a hard line partway along the fibre. In an older rug, abrash and the shifting shade of undyed cream wool are natural traits, not faults, though abrash can be imitated, so it is no proof of age. Bled dye or patchy sun-fading counts against condition.
Some designs belong to a period, such as Ziegler Mahal, first woven for European buyers in the late 19th century. Local styles evolve too: around Heriz, the loose, tribal Bakshaish rugs (1870s and before) gave way to the tidier but still airy Serapi in the late 19th century, and the Serapi from the 1910s to the fuller Heriz designs of today. Old patterns are still copied, so design never decides alone. Machine-spun cotton replaced wool in many foundations from about the 1930s, a clue to read against the rug's type: city and many village rugs were woven on cotton long before, and tribal weavers often still use wool.
Density is a trait of region and design, and no grade on its own. Modern rugs often carry more knots than 18th- or 19th-century ones, and antique silk rugs are dense too, so the count is only a supporting clue to age. How it bears on value depends on the drawing; see the FAQ below.
A woven signature ties a city-workshop rug to the standards of the house that wove it, so signed pieces from renowned workshops fetch more and draw collectors, above all once a workshop has stopped weaving or signing. Signed Saber rugs from Mashhad, for instance, are now scarce. A workshop rug need not be signed, and a signature counts only when the drawing, materials and weave agree with it.
Photos show many of these clues: the back, the knots, the colours, the outline. Only a few, such as a gritty back or a fine weave grown supple, depend on touch and need the rug in hand.
Further reading in our carpet dictionary:
It depends on origin, age, materials, knot density, size, condition and current demand. Appraisers price in three age lanes — new, semi-antique (up to roughly 60–70 years old) and antique (over 100) — and the older the lane, the more condition weighs: repairs, colour runs, how evenly the pile has worn. Knot density counts only as far as the design needs it, and the dyes help date a piece: synthetic colours that have faded towards the tips point to weaving from the late 19th century onwards. A machine-made rug rarely holds resale value, while hand-knotted Persian, oriental and antique pieces can be worth anywhere from a few hundred to many thousands of euros. Our appraisal tells you what your specific rug is worth — and why.
Not on its own. Knot density (KPSI, knots per square inch) measures how finely a hand-knotted rug is tied; one KPSI is about 15.5 knots per 10 × 10 cm. It is counted on the back: the knots along an inch each way, multiplied and averaged over two or three areas. A high count keeps curvilinear detail sharp; bold geometric drawing does not need it, and Heriz and Bijar rugs are hard-wearing at modest counts. More knots mean more skilled labour but add value only where the pattern needs them; design, symmetry, colour, materials, workshop, age and condition weigh as much or more. Many valuable antiques are less finely knotted than dense new work (fine antique Kashans measure about 240 to 330 KPSI), and a very high count guarantees nothing. A ruler beside the knots in step 3 helps us assess your rug's density.
You photograph your rug — front, back and a close-up of the knots — then upload the photos with its measurements. Our specialists identify the origin, technique and quality, and you receive your valuation within 24–48 hours.
Yes, in most cases. The back of a rug shows the knotting — the clearest marker of how and where it was made. Sharp photos of the front, back and edges, plus exact measurements, let an experienced appraiser identify a piece with confidence; if the photos aren't sufficient, we ask for more before completing the valuation.
Yes — hand-knotted Persian, oriental, Turkish, Caucasian and antique rugs are exactly what we specialise in. We handle these pieces daily in our own shop and restoration workshop, and that market knowledge is what your valuation is built on.
Yes. A written valuation documents your rug's worth for insurance policies and claims or for an inheritance, and it gives you a realistic asking price — and solid negotiating ground — when you decide to sell.