A customer called and said she had a 4′ x 6′ rug for cleaning and wanted a quote and information on how we clean rugs. I spoke with her over the phone for a few minutes and gave answered her questions.   When she brought the rug in, I asked how much she knew about it and she said the only thing she knows is that her father who was a cultural attache of the American embassy in Tehran, had bought this rug in the 50’s during his mission in Iran. I told her that this is a hand knotted Persian rug form the famous city of Kashan in the very famous province of Isfahan in central Iran. Its foundation is cotton and the pile is lamb’s wool. There is a signature which reads  “Kashan, Saniee”. There are some poems on the main borders form a very famous Iranian poet named Hafez who died in 1394, late 14th century. There are also some poems from another famous Iranian poet named Hatef Isfahani, died in 1783, late 18th century in all four corners. But, the ends and sides of this rug are damaged and this beautiful object of art should be repaired and preserved. Today’s market value of this rug in good condition would be around $5,000. She said she had never noticed the writings in the rug and no one had ever brought that to her attention. She was excited to learn about the rug they had in the family for almost 60 years and was ready to do the full repair.

I believe rug ID is very important for us who are in the rug care business. At the same time, this can provide great information and service to our clients as well. Don’t you feel the same way?

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.LosAngelesRugCleaning.com
www.RugIdea.com
Tel. 310-770-9085