Claremont Rug Company Reports "Intense Interest" in Bostonian Collection

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Jan David Winitz, an eminent art dealer who specializes in 19th century antique Oriental rugs, today reported "an intense interest" in The Bostonian Collection, a trove of important, art-level to museum-caliber Persian and Caucasian rugs assembled by a New England-based family and held over four generations.

Winitz, president and founder of Claremont Rug Company, said, "Over one-third of the Bostonian Collection carpets have been sold within the first few weeks since opening the exhibit. A common theme among the buyers is their appreciation for the 'best of the best' quality of these antique rugs."
Included in the Collection were 50 Persian, Caucasian and Turkish rugs woven 1800 to 1850 as well a significant number of early to mid-19th century examples of art/investment level Persian Motasham Kashan, Laver Kirman and Kermanshah rugs. Art collectors consider it one of the top three private acquisitions in the past decade.

Additional information about the "Bostonian Collection" event may be obtained from Claremont Rug Company (1-800-441-1332). A video of "The Bostonian Collection" is also available online.

Winitz said the largest number of purchases to date have been made by clients from Silicon Valley, where entrepreneurs, financial executives and venture capitalists have increasingly shown an interest in rare, 19(th) century Persian rugs. More than 10 percent of the buyers have been from outside the U.S.

Over the past several years, the international art-collecting community has shown a deepening appreciation of the importance and relative value of antique Oriental rugs. "The Bostonian Collection has attracted intense interest from sophisticated art collectors who are newcomers to antique rugs," he said. He also said, "Many buyers are those furnishing new homes who are accustomed to buying top caliber items."

Similarly, as Douglas Druick, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, recently told the Washington Post, "It's not like that moment in the late '80s where everything -- the best and the less-than-best -- was rising. Now the market is much more savvy."

In the case of the 180-piece Bostonian Collection, it is the first time that many of these antique rugs have been seen outside the family since they were originally acquired. Some of the Oriental carpets have been in storage since their purchase in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The provenance of many of the pieces is traceable to their original acquisition in the Near East. "And, because they were held privately, none of these rugs have previously been documented in the literature," said Winitz.

"The family began collecting in the late 1800s and were among the first generation of serious American Oriental rug collectors," said Winitz, who is also the author of The Guide to Purchasing an Oriental Rug. "Since the great-grandfather started collecting, two generations added to the cache, which was displayed at their six family residences."

The other collections that Winitz compared with "The Bostonian" are the 400-rug "Hudson River Valley Collection" (2008) and the "Intercontinental Collection" (2010). Those events drew renewed attention to rugs from the Second Golden Age of Persian Weaving (ca 1800 to ca 1900).

Winitz founded Claremont Rug Company in 1980 and has since built an inventory comprised of more than 4000 rare Oriental carpets that are valued in the range of $20,000 to more than $500,000 per rug. To aid clients, the Gallery has more than 1000 19(th) century and turn-of-the-20(th) century rugs available for viewing and an extensive educational section on its website (www.claremontrug.com).

Kashan Antique Oriental Rugs, Part 1

Kashan Antique Carpet

Kashan antique Oriental carpets are one of the most important of the refined urban antique carpets that are the direct legacy of the Golden Age of Persian Weaving of the reign of the famous patron of the arts, Shah Abbas, in the 16th and early 17th centuries.

Many of the archetypal antique Persian carpet motifs originated here. The source of one notable garden motif, the "Royal Garden" of Kashan, still has flowing spring water and has been well preserved since the 16th century. This royal garden was built by the above-mentioned Shah Abbas, the principal monarch of the Safavid Dynasty. The basic inspiration and model for most city antique carpets is the Garden of Paradise.

The vast majority of the prized Kashan vintage and antique rugs available today usually stem from the second half of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. During this time period, the best antique Persian rugs were commissioned for individual homes, while others were produced for either the domestic or foreign markets. The best Kashan antique carpets have always used a superior quality of wool. Older antique carpets feature the preferred vegetable dyes, while virtually all pieces from the 1930's on incorporate the modern chrome dyes.

The most rare group of Kashan antique Oriental rugs that utilizes non-traditional designs and color palettes is the "Motasham Kashan," which were woven up to the end of the 19th century. This elite class of Kashan antique Oriental carpets uses a very luminous quality of lamb's wool, which gives the surface a highly reflective quality. Quite hard-to-find, true Motasham Kashan antique rugs are extraordinarily finely knotted. They employ either a graceful teardrop medallion or intricately detailed allover blossom and leaf patterns.

Tabriz Antique Carpets, Part Two

Since the early part of this century, Tabriz has lead a resurgence in carpet-weaving both for domestic use and for export. With strict standards of craftsmanship and quality of materials used, Tabriz weavers produced tight densely-knotted structures and elaborate floral displays in their antique carpets. Some of the finest workshop rugs, woven exclusively for carpet aficionados among the nobility, are technical achievements unsurpassed by any other weavings of the 20th century.

Like Kashan and Isfahan antique carpets, Tabriz antique carpets capture the sophistication and refinement of the classical Safavid Court carpets. Reflected in many fine examples of Tabriz carpets is this rich heritage of the elegant court tradition combined with subtle innovations inspired by Western taste and artistry.

The Tabriz weavers of antique carpets drew on a varied repertoire of delicate designs: multi-faceted flowerheads, subtle arabesques, lush vinery rendered in naturalistic detail, and precise allover "Herati" patterns, all woven in jewel-toned colors.

Tabriz Antique Carpets, Part One

Tabriz Antique Carpet

The major city of Tabriz, located near the Turkish border, is the center of classically designed antique carpets in Northwest Persia. At the foot of the beautiful Elbruz Mountains, Tabriz has a noteworthy history, both as the Persian market center most linked geographically to European and Western commerce, and as the source of the most venerated antique carpets: the inspired antique Oriental carpets of the Shah Abbas period during the 15th and 16th centuries.

With such auspicious beginnings, during the second half of the 19th century, the city boasted some of the most famous antique carpet weaving masters such as Kurban Dai, Sheik Safi, Faradji. and most notably, the luminary Hadji Jallil, all of whom were responsible for the reclamation of this celebrated past by reinventing a truly memorable antique carpet production.

Serapi Rugs, Part 2

 
Until they began rising in value in the 1980's, Serapis were an inexpensive alternative to classical floral antique Oriental carpets that were often used in heavily trafficked areas of the home. This use helped to soften the color, giving the Serapi antique carpet the muted tonalities they are renowned for by collectors and interior designers around the world.

The heavy use that Serapis often withstood also meant that significant restoration commonly was necessary to preserve many of the finest pieces. If antique carpet care is done skillfully and thoroughly, restoration not only allows the continued use of these majestic carpets, but also increases their investment value. 19th century pieces with only a moderate amount of skillfully executed restoration are quite rare and, if of excellent quality and strong artistic impact, are extremely desirable.

Antique Oriental carpets of Serapi are usually found in the room size format from 9x12 to 11x14. Happily, oversize Serapis measuring 11x15 to 12x18 are sometimes found, and the best examples woven pre-1900 are deeply prized. Very occasionally extremely large antique examples woven in sizes up to 16x 26 can be found. Area-size Serapis, measuring 4ft x 5ft to 5ft x 6ft 6in are very seldom encountered and cherished by connoisseurs. Although rarely found, Serapis runners and keleges (corridor-size runners) make stunning complements to decors featuring room size or oversize Serapis.

Having had the pleasure to place so many of these wonderful carpets, we can attest to the magical element they bring to a wide range of decors. The rarity of the best Serapi antique rugs with pure vegetable dyes, graphic designs and inspired artistry make them excellent investments, occupying an important position in both the American and international art markets.

Serapi rugs, Part 1

Fine antique oriental 19th-century Serapis include some of the most desirable and rare antique carpets in larger sizes. Woven in the rugged mountains of Northwest Persia, Serapis are a distinct Heriz region style of antique oriental rugs, with finer knotting and more large-scale spaciously placed designs than other rugs from this area.

Antique Oriental Serapi Rug

Although it was the grandest of the antique oriental carpets in the Heriz styles, Serapi style antique carpets are seldom seen after 1910, because of the remoteness of the mountains in Northwest Persia presented. Antique carpets had to be taken by their weavers to Serab, 30 miles distant, to be marketed. "Serapi" is not a place or tribal name; rather it is a market term derived from "Serab-i," meaning "of Serab".

Serapi antique carpets combine design elements borrowed from many traditions. The bold geometric designs are probably connected to the antique oriental carpet tradition of tribal Caucasians across the Aras River to the north. The elegant court carpets of Tabriz to the west certainly would have influenced the weavers' understanding of balance and the central medallion format of an antique oriental carpet.

Serapi antique carpets were woven on the level of a family or small workshop with multiple weavers working several years to complete each antique oriental carpet. The weaving was done almost exclusively by women. Highly skilled artisans, they continually reinterpreted the design as they wove, creating highly spontaneous and inventive artistry in each antique carpet. In general, the Serapi antique carpets made in small workshops are more finely woven and formal, and pieces woven on a family level are more rustic and symbolic in design.

The women of this area were master dyers able to deeply dye the superb, silky, local wool with a great range of soft-shaded or "abrashed" color. The wide palette of hues in the antique carpets came from many carefully brewed plants and minerals, colors for which the recipes are now lost. Watermelon to terra cotta tones came from madder root. The blue tones, from sky and aqua to periwinkle and deep navy, came from the indigo plant. Gold and yellow tones are from chamomile and a variety of other plants. The weavers also frequently used large areas of undyed and unbleached wool, whose ivory and camel tones provided contrast to the wide range of vegetable color in the antique oriental carpet.

Sultanabad Rugs, Part 2

Ivory Sultanabads often possess a charming naiveté, along with a palette based in undyed sheep's wool, in hues of ivory, cream and beige. Often with lattice works of vinery and flowerheads in soft pastels, a secondary drama of shading is played out in marvelous color striations otherwise known as ‘abrash'. The finest and hardest to find of both the ivory ground pieces, and the entire Sultanabad group use allover designs of spaciously placed, extremely overscale blossoms, asymmetrically arranged across a sparsely adorned field.

Antique Oriental Sultanabad Carpet, 10ft 10in x 17ft 2in, Circa 1900
A captivating collection of deeply harmonious hues brings an elevated sense of artistry to this tour-de-force antique Persian Sultanabad carpet. Its dazzling array of warm, joyful colors include naturally dyed apricot, cobalt blue, apple green, persimmon and sky blue. This exquisite palette is perfectly paired with a cool ivory field to allow each tone to be fully experienced. A compelling, balanced allover design adds welcome structure to this virtuoso display, augmented by the crisp clarity that its very fine weave makes possible. This extremely noteworthy oversize Oriental carpet came to us in virtually perfect, heavy-pile condition.

In the late 1870s, a new style of Sultanabad was developed as a result of venture capital money invested by Ziegler & Co. of Manchester, England, which subsidized one-of-a-kind commissioned pieces particularly for export to England and France. This resulted in the noted "Ziegler Sultanabad" style. Distinguished by a significantly finer weave and thinner fabric, and stylish, allover patterns in delicate color, Zieglers met with great success in Europe, immediately recognized by the more decoratively inclined Western markets. Although based on classical Persian patterns, Zieglers offer delightfully inspired English translations, often to impressive overscale proportions.

Zieglers are beloved among many fine interior designers and art lovers for their marriage of causal motifs and superlative craftsmanship. Yet, another school among connoisseurs prefers the more loosely woven, heavier piled "village" Sultanabads for their highly abstracted, naive renditions of both tribal motifs and traditional Persian Court and Garden designs.

Exemplary Sultanabad carpets are preferred by many for their originality and inspired artistry, and have forged an important niche in today's decorative market for their compatibility and versatility with the finest interiors and other works of art. Because of their rarity, desirability and innovative spirit, the best 19th-century and turn-of-the-20th-century pieces will continue to grow as art investments for many decades to come.