The following is a complete listing of our Antique and Semi-antique rugs and carpets in current stock. They are arranged in order of size, starting with the smallest.
Each and every piece has been personally and carefully selected, based on 45 years of experience buying Antique rugs. I only buy exceptional pieces in perfect or near perfect condition, preferably untouched by restoration, alterations, heavy wear, artificial "antique wash" treatments or any other interference that would negatively effect value.
The quality must be top end, as must be artistic merit, visual appeal and, ideally, a degree of relative rarity within its group.
Click on images to enlarge. More images of each lot available upon request.
This section updated 16/11/2019.
A very pretty little rug with good, natural colours, excellent wool and free of repairs. The side cords have been oversewn in places. A nice thing for a wall, or anywhere, at a price of a small water colour painting.
€825.-
A typical example of the small but highly decorative "poushti" (cushion) size rugs woven in Ravar at this time. Rugs like this would rarely have been walked on if owned by Persians, rather they could serve as seating mats while entertaining guests, or beautiful wall decorations. Areas of slight wear but generally in fairly good condition.
€450
A beautifully woven example of the now very rare pictorial pieces woven in the late 19th C. Usually such pieces depict previous Persian rulers or other persons of historical importance; more unusually you see religious scenes such as this Madonna & Child image. The signature panel at the top reads "Maryam and Isa", Mary and Jesus. In perfect condition throughout with full pile, no repairs, original sides and ends.
€1250.-
A finely knotted, pretty little rug, technically slightly too small to serve as a practical prayer rug but more intended as a decorative work of art. The pale sky blue colours are typical of Teheran rugs, as is the fine weave pale blue cotton wefts. The rug has lost 3 knot rows at the lower end and there are two minute spot repairs along the side cords, otherwise it is in very good condition throughout. A very nice thing to have on the wall at a modest price.
€SOLD
A finely knotted, beautifully drawn Teheran rug with its characteristic colouring of pale blue, yellow and cochineal red, in excellent condition throughout. For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions and scroll down.
€1950
A very pretty Baluch rug with glowing, warm colours and lanolin rich wool, drawn in the traditional style of the Baluchi from the Torbat-e-Haidari. The pile is slightly low in places showing minor spot wear, there are a couple of minor repairs to the elaborate end kilims and side cords but generally it's in good shape throughout. Would make a lovely wall hanging!
€1450
Finely woven, small rugs around 1 meter square were woven by several Turkoman tribes. They are usually well above average in terms of quality, choice of wool and dyes, suggesting they were woven for a special purpose. The strongest theory is that they were given to the bride upon which she would sit, receive well wishers and accept dowry and gifts.
Several other examples are published, a very similar piece shown at the London exhibition by Bernheimer, Oriental Carpets and Textiles, 1987, plate 37. This example is in perfect, original condition throughout, incl kilims, side cords and full pile, free of repairs.
€2200
This is a curiosity whose exact origins are up for debate. The weave is Kurdish (brown wool warps), the colouring and design highly reminiscent of rugs and kilims woven around Sanadaj, yet there's a distinct Avshar feel to it. Without elaborating here, suffice it to say it is a beautiful, quirky and endearing rug with lovely natural colours and great wool, in very good condition. The side cords have been oversewn and the upper short end reduced by 1-2 knot rows, now secured.
€SOLD
This beautiful, and unusual, Tekke "Bokhara" rug has spent most of its life to date on the wall - on this image you can see the stitch for the back webbing along the top kilim end. Probably never walked on, it is in totally original, untouched condition throughout with full pile, original side cords and complete kilims, woven on a warp of wool and goats' hair, free of repairs. A rare feature is the variance in design along the top and bottom end border, something you normally associate with the "ensi" group of Turkoman tribal rugs. A gem!
€2850
In 1982 one of leading experts on Baluch rugs, Michael Craycraft of Adraskand Gallery in San Fransisco, held an important exhibition exclusively featuring vintage Baluch prayer rugs. Plate 31 features an almost identical rug with the same rare kilim brocading which he attributes to the Sarakhs group. Our example is in virtually perfect, original condition, with full pile, intact kilims and side cords. Although it is in perfect pile with many generations of wear left in it, this rare and beautiful rug might deserve a proud place on a wall, being such a superb example of Baluch tribal rug art.
€SOLD
A very pretty little rug with a design normally attributed to the Mazlagan villages of Saveh. This example has been kept in excellent condition by its previous caretakers, in full pile with original ends and sides, only a couple of minute spot repairs. For further info on this piece, click on Recent Acquisitions and scroll down.
€1850
Rug weaving in Abadeh is merely over a century old, inspired by the weavings traded in the bazaars by the various tribal groups passing through. Old examples were well made with good, natural colours and properly spun wool. The design seen here is known as "Zil-i-Soltan", a complex all over composition featuring vases filled with exotic flowers. In excellent condition throughout.
€1600
Several works on antique Baluch rugs have been published, perhaps the most informative one by Jeff Boucher, Baluchi Woven Treasures, where describes a huge range of weavings by this group. Plates 6 and 11 in his book are closely related to this charming rug which features a rare inclusion of scatter details in white in the middle of the rhythmic grid design. In very good, original condition with full pile except areas piled in black wool, the original kilims and side cords present.
€1950
The finely knotted, high quality rugs from Jozan are renowned for their glossy wool and excellent colours. Similar to rugs from nearby Sarouk they mainly come in medallion designs, woven with double wefts but using the symmetric knot.
Jozans are hard wearing, long lasting rugs that will survive for generations if cared for properly. This charming piece of a slightly unusual size was acquired from a Swedish collection, kept in near perfect condition by its previous custodian. Note the lovely use of sky blue rosettes against the dark field colours. The late Stockholm dealer Peter Willborg illustrates a very similar example on pl 29 in his book Hamadan.
€2400
A very handsome and highly decorative antique Bidjar rug with a strong centre medallion design, skilfully offset by narrow borders and ivory corner spandrels. One look at the border and you can see it was woven freestyle, not to a rigid cartoon as later examples invariably are, showing the weaver's artistic skill and imagination.
In superb condition with full pile, original side cords and only marginal loss of kilim strands each end. There are a small number of minute, re-piled spots of old moth damage, now all perfected, A beautiful, hard wearing rug with excellent natural colours and rich, glossy wool.
€3200
This wonderful rug features a finely knotted pile of silky "kurk" (lambs') wool, a beautifully composed design in a palette of soft, natural colours. The skills and time involved in making a rug of this quality is extraordinary - even if the weaver produced on average 5000 knots per day the weaving alone would have consumed almost 5 months. In addition you have the intricate design work (drawn separately by master designers), wool spinning, dyeing, polishing and finally cleaning. A rare and elegant piece in today's global rug market.
€SOLD
A very rare and early rug from the private collection of Dr Harald Boehmer, founder of the DOBAG project, purchased by him in Turkey in the 1960's. Published in his comprehensive study of natural dyes in Anatolia Koekboya, pl. 33. For further info on this piece click on Recent Acquisitions and scroll down.
€SOLD
A very attractive Caucasian rug in good condition throughout apart from a small area of slight wear in lower left area. The rug has been hung on a wall in its previous life and hence avoided wear and tear exposure. For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions, and scroll down.
€SOLD
Ensi was a dowry rug woven with the specific purpose of covering the open tent door in a Yomut yurt (tent) during the wedding festivities. Usually finely woven, these beautiful rugs were never in use on the ground for as long as they remained as family dowry heirlooms, perhaps only displayed on the wedding anniversary. This beautiful, early example with its bold "eagle" border end panels is in excellent condition throughout, full pile showing no wear, original ends and much of the side-cords (one side has been partly rebound but as original). One of the best Yomut Ensis I have come across in a while, ex Swedish private collection.
€4500.-
At first glance this highly decorative rug is clearly a Baluch weaving, until you look more closely at certain weave, dye and design features. Kurdish and Baluch groups lived and migrated in close proximity in this area and often "borrowed" rug design ideas from each other. Kurdish features in this rug include the use of brown wool and goats' hair in the structure, the very elaborate kilim ends usually seen around the Kurdish rugs from Quchan, plus the subtle use of a lovely green colour rarely seen in true Baluch rugs. In very good condition showing only slight, overall wear plus some minute repairs to the kilim ends.
€1900
A charming rug of a well documented group with good, natural colours, lanolin rich wool and solid workmanship. In very good condition with near full pile throughout, original side cords and end finishes. Some minor securements to the kilim ends and overbinding in spots on side cords have been undertaken since photography.
Ref: T. Runge, One Woman One Weft, Pl. 21
€1475.-
A robustly woven, strikingly decorative rug in perfect condition throughout, full pile and good colours with the exception of the synthetic orange in border details. A very appealing, hard wearing rug at a reasonable price which would have been double the amount had all dyes been organic. The abrash in the blue border reveals its true age, as does the quirky design clearly based on memory rather than a sterile cartoon. A bargain!
€975
A highly decorative Baluch piece with an unusual design, showing strong Turkoman influence in its use of Gul motifs down the centre. The border is also unusual, featuring a large variety of enclosed motifs without the usual vine or meander form. It also features small details in magenta silk pile so clearly the rug was made for a special occasion, most probably for dowry or wedding gift.
Purchased from a Swedish collection, the rug is in excellent condition, showing only small spots of slight surface wear, the original sides and kilim ends intact.
€2400
This is quite an exceptional small Meshed rug, falling in size between the two traditional formats zaronim and dozar. The weave is super fine for a wool rug, at approx 400 knots pr square inch, placing it way above the norm for Meshed rugs of this period. It may well be a smaller "model" woven by Saber, famous for their exceptionally fine larger carpets of this appearance and quality. In perfect condition throughout.
€SOLD
The Demirci Kulas are classified as among the most traditional of rugs woven in Asia Minor, their production reaching back to the 15th C. Sometimes called Komurcu Kula, meaning charcoal burner, this refers to the typical charcoal brown ground shared by most examples. This piece is in remarkable condition with full pile and original kilim ends and side cords present. There is a very small repair to the lower right corner comprising a stretch of 3 inches of end kilim, a reweave of the actual corner involving a half dozen knots including less than an inch of side cord.
Ref: Adil Besim, Turkische Teppiche, Pl. 24, and Antique Anatolische Teppiche, Austrian Collections, Society of Vienna, Pl. 21.
€3900.-
