GUEST: Years ago, my
husband and I went to the
Museum of Fine Arts in
Boston for an exhibition,

and on the way home, we passed
this little antique shop, and
I wanted to stop. He didn't,

but we stopped-- I won.
(chuckling) Nothing of the, in
the shop was of value, but this

was hanging on the railing
outside. And I said to my
husband, "I absolutely love that

rug. I've got to find out
how much it is." So I went in
to see the gentleman, and he

said, "The rug's $100." And
I said, "Are you sure?" He
said, "Yes, it's a good rug." I

wanted the rug.

APPRAISER: Early 20th century,
there was a trend of collecting
Oriental rugs in the United

States. People collected
paintings, tapestries,
furniture, also
collected great rugs. And

as a result, other
people thought, "Hmm,
we have this tradition
of American hooked rugs.

We could use those designs
and create..." Basically, not
really reproductions, but our

own variations on what
Eastern rugs looked like.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: They were really
originally sold as kits. Circa
1920, you'd buy the burlap

backing and it would
have a pattern stenciled
on it, but then you'd
get your own wools and

you'd get your own fabrics, and
do the hooking yourself. And
so whoever did this went out

and very specifically
bought the proper yarns.
I think, just because
the color's so consistent

throughout, it's obviously not
scrap material that's been used.

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: But you can see a
few a spots where they have
filled in. There's a deeper red

through here.

GUEST: I can see it, yeah.

APPRAISER: There's a purple,
and I originally thought, "Hmm,
some restoration." But when

you look at the back
of the rug and really
look at the consistency
of the yarn itself...

GUEST: They ran out
of this red, so they
transitioned to the other?

APPRAISER: Absolutely,
absolutely.

GUEST: Uh-huh.

APPRAISER: And that's a really
nice aspect of things, because
hooked rugs really come

out of a Folk Art tradition,
so it's nice to have those
kind of homey touches that are

coming into the rug itself.
This example's in extremely
good condition, with very, very

good color retention.
I think it would have a
retail price of $8,000.

GUEST: $8,000?

APPRAISER: $8,000.

GUEST: Oh, my goodness.
That... that is remarkable,
and certainly far beyond
what I've ever expected.

I have loved this for the
years that I've had it, and,
actually, I tried to give it

to one of my girls, and she
said no, and I bet she regrets
it right now! (laughing)