What a formal appraisal includes
- Written valuation report — signed, dated, archive-grade
- Fibre and origin identification — wool, silk, blend; weaving region
- Condition assessment — structural, surface, dye stability
- Comparable market analysis — recent auction and retail benchmarks
- Insurance-ready documentation — meets major carrier requirements
Three types of appraisal
Insurance valuation
The most common reason clients come to us. Your insurer needs a replacement-value figure to set a premium and to pay out cleanly if the rug is ever lost or destroyed. A formal appraisal from us is signed, dated, photographed, and filed in a way that carriers recognise.
Estate & inheritance
After a death, rugs are often the single most valuable household category and the least understood. We produce documentation suitable for probate, estate tax filings, and equitable division among heirs — multiple pieces priced in one visit.
Pre-sale & auction
Selling a rug without an expert appraisal is selling blind. Whether you’re going private-party, auction-house, or consignment, an independent valuation from a museum-trained conservator sets the floor and strengthens your provenance.
Appraised pieces in long-term storage benefit from our climate-appropriate storage service — rolled, wrapped, and held in our Skokie facility from $25/month.
Try the free valuation estimate first
Before booking a formal appraisal, you can apply the RUG Index five-pillar formula to your rug using the free valuation tool at therugindex.com/valuation. It produces a ±20% estimate across resale, retail replacement, auction, and insurance value contexts — a useful starting point before a certified physical inspection.
