Salmiya

UPDATE below. On a commercial website where dealers can offer antique rugs I found today the picture below. The dealer describes it as, "158 x 106 cm, 5'3 x 3'6, Fahralo Prayer Kazak, dated 1806/7, still in rather good condition with some old repairs." The date on the rug is clearly visible, 1261. One may calculate the Gregorian year by adding 622 (the year of Hijra) and subtracting 1261/33 (due to the lunar calendar AH, each year is 11 days shorter, so 365/11 =11.18). So, the possible year when the rug was manufactured is 1845, not 1806/07 (which would be 1221 AH). Apparently the dealer wants to suggest that the third number is a (mirrored) 2, not 6. The script is clearly Arabic, not Persian, see below. I doubt whether any serious collector of antique rugs is not aware of the importance of dates in rugs. It may be the only more or less reliable way to estimate age. It may also serve for tentatively dating similar rugs without a date. Having know...