Valuation at your home · throughout France
Free valuation of Persian rugs and Oriental rugs
What is your rug worth? Send us a few photos: you will receive a free first opinion, usually within 24 to 48 hours. We then come to examine it at your home, free of charge and without obligation: nothing replaces seeing a rug up close.
Why have a rug valued?
A valuation for every situation
Insurance
Know the value of your pieces so that they are properly insured.
After an incident
Water damage, fire: establish the value of the rug and obtain a detailed restoration quote for your insurer.
Inheritance or estate division
Value an inherited rug, pass it on, or divide an estate between heirs.
Resale
Know what your rug is worth before selling it, whether to us or to someone else.
Before a restoration
Find out whether the work is worth it: we compare its cost with the value of the rug once restored.
Simple curiosity
Discover the origin and history of a rug you own.
How it works
Simple, and without leaving home
A few good photos are enough for a first opinion. For an accurate valuation, nothing beats an examination at your home: it is free and without obligation.
You send us photos
Using the form below or by e-mail, with the dimensions of the rug.
We give you a first opinion
Free of charge, usually within 24 to 48 hours: probable origin, period, quality and approximate value, based on the photos.
We come to see the rug at your home
This is always preferable: knot density, materials and old restorations can only be judged with the rug in hand. The visit is free and without obligation.
You decide what happens next
Keep, insure, restore or sell: we advise you, with no obligation.
Good photos
What should you photograph?
- The whole rug, laid flat, seen from above, in daylight
- The back, in close-up: that is where the knots can be read
- A corner, showing the selvedge and the fringes
- The details: signature, inscription, label, damaged areas
- The dimensions: length × width, without the fringes
What we look at
The criteria of a valuation
- Origin: Persia, Turkey (Hereke), the Caucasus, China, Afghanistan…, down to the town or tribe where it was made
- Age: antique, semi-antique or recent
- Materials: wool, silk, natural dyes
- Fineness: knot density and regularity
- Condition: wear, restorations, colours
- Rarity and the decorative appeal of the design
Handmade or machine-made?
The tell-tale signs
Before origin or period, the first question is a simple one: is the rug hand-knotted? Four clues will point you in the right direction.
The back
On a hand-knotted rug, the design can be read almost as clearly on the back as on the front, knot by knot, with small irregularities. A perfectly gridded back, or one hidden under a cloth or latex backing, is the mark of a machine-made or tufted rug.
The fringes
They are the ends of the warp threads: they are part of the rug itself. Fringes sewn or glued onto the ends give away a machine-made rug.
Irregularities
Slight variations in colour (abrash), motifs that are not quite symmetrical, slightly uneven sides: these are not flaws but the mark of handwork.
The selvedges
Along the sides, the selvedges of a hand-knotted rug are overcast by hand. A perfectly even, machine-stitched selvedge suggests a machine-made rug instead.
Condition matters
What lowers the value
- Deep wear, down to the foundation threads
- Crude touch-ups with felt-tip pen or paint to hide wear
- A rug that has been cut down or shortened
- Colours that have run during a careless wash
- Moths and damp, which eat away at the wool and rot the threads
- Old repairs that are crude or too visible
The good news
… and what can be put right
- Soiling, stains, odours: a hand wash
- Holes, tears, burns: re-woven knot by knot
- Worn fringes and selvedges: strengthened or remade
- Pile worn in places: reknotted with wools dyed to the right shade
- Faded colours: re-dyed in the original shade
- Poor repairs: undone, then redone properly
Before quoting for any restoration, we assess what the rug will be worth once restored. If the work would cost more than the rug will then be worth, we tell you so.
Frequently asked questions
Rug valuation: your questions
Is there a charge for the valuation?
No. The first opinion on photos is free, as are the home visit and the quote, with no obligation whatsoever on your part.
How soon will I hear back?
Usually within 24 to 48 hours of receiving your photos. If you wish, we can then arrange an appointment at your home.
Is a valuation from photos enough?
It gives a first opinion: probable origin, period, approximate value. But a home valuation is always preferable: knot density, materials, true condition and old restorations can only be judged with the rug in hand. It is free and without obligation.
How can I tell whether my rug is handmade?
Turn over a corner: on a hand-knotted rug, the design can be read on the back, knot by knot, and the fringes are the ends of the warp threads rather than being sewn on. See the tell-tale signs.
Is an antique rug necessarily valuable?
No, age is not everything: origin, fineness, materials, condition and rarity matter just as much. A very finely knotted, more recent silk rug can be worth more than a heavily worn antique one.
Should I clean the rug before having it valued?
No, and certainly not yourself: a careless wash can make the colours run and reduce its value. Photograph it just as it is.
Can you date my rug precisely?
Most often we give a date range, for example 1920–1960: the design, materials, dyes and knotting technique place a rug in time, but rarely to the exact year. A date woven into the rug helps, but it must be verified.
Do you also value tapestries?
Yes: Aubusson tapestries and others, kilims, silk rugs, and rugs of every origin, whether Persian, Turkish, Caucasian, Afghan, Chinese, Indian or Berber.
Can you buy my rug after the valuation?
Yes, if you wish. Find out more about our buying service. You remain entirely free to sell or not.
Valuation
Have your rug valued
Fill in this form and add your photos: we usually reply within 24 to 48 hours with a free first opinion.
- Family business since 1956
- Free first opinion on photos, within 24 to 48 hours
- Free home valuation, without obligation
- We travel throughout France, by appointment
We reply in English by e-mail and WhatsApp. Phone calls and home visits are mainly in French.