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 22/7/2022.
A quirky little piece woven by settled Avshari villagers, in a format that suggests it could have been the front of a storage bag (khorjin)), or else just a decorative little seating rug (poushti). The four large flowering vases with a few scattered "evil eye" symbols suggests it was a wedding gift, wishing its owners happiness, fertility and protection from evil spirits.
In excellent condition, full pile and no repairs.
€725
This beautiful little rug is a bit of a rarity, woven in a town famous for its highly educated and successful bankers and traders but with only 20-30 active looms at the time of weaving. In his impressive work The Persian Carpet of 1953 Cecil Edwards found 200-300 looms but Yazd rugs soon became commercial in competition with carpets from nearby Kerman.
Finely woven with inlaid silk details this rug features the Zil-i-Soltan repeated vase design, with an inscription at the base of the field. In very good condition apart from minute loss at each short end, now secured. For further info on this piece, click on Recent Acquisitions and scroll down.
€SOLD
This beautiful little piece depicts a midnight scene, with the deep blue ground and a nightingale perched at the top of the tree-of-life. Finely woven in thick, lustrous wool on a cotton warp it was the work of a settled tribal Avshari woman with a great eye for the use of colour and design.
Note also the single female human figure and two small birds, suggesting it may have been intended as a gift. The all natural dyes are superb, as is the lanolin-rich wool, condition perfect throughout with no repairs. The side cords have been overcast at some point in its later life. A rare little jewel of a late 19th C rug that can take a lot of floor wear but, being a true work of art, would achieve maximum impact on the wall.
€3800
A very finely woven, rare and early Caucasian village rug, featuring the "Leshgi star" motifs on a field of scattered, charmingly displaced filler motifs of rosettes, evil eye symbols, S motifs and more. The almost black border and star outlining makes a great framework for the soft red field.
€SOLD
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.
€SOLD
These lovely pictorial rugs have always been much sought after internationally among collectors of Chinese artefacts as well as decorators looking for interesting pieces with predominantly indigo blue colouring. The wool is of excellent quality, in full pile throughout, all dyed naturally except small details in a bright pink which is an early synthetic dye used in China from around 1900.
A great, hard wearing rug that would give any environment a lift, perhaps most suitable as an evocative, tactile and highly decorative wall hanging. In excellent condition throughout, the rug has been cleaned after being photographed.
€SOLD
A very beautiful antique Caucasian rug, full of spontaneity, great natural colours and pleasing, evocative design. Woven on wool foundation with a high knot count of 120/sq inch it has a supple, tactile handle.
Clearly obvious from both field and borders the weaver was working entirely from memory, ie the piece (like most true vintage pieces) is totally unique, in stark contrast with later mass production of pre-designed factory rugs with hideous synthetic colours and lifeless design.
In excellent, almost mint condition throughout I have only found 3 minute, perfectly performed, repairs in the upper end corners plus another in the lower left inner field. A related piece is published in L. Kerimov, Rugs & Carpets from the Caucasus, the Russian Collections, Pl. 41.
€SOLD
A finely woven rug with a design and colouring often found in the Saveh region of Hamadan. The Maine rug dealer Tad Runge in his work One Woman One Weft illustrates several pieces of similar appearance and technical specifications - plates 31-35.
Good natural colours, in full pile throughout, original sides and ends present, only a couple of minute spot repairs, this rug has been well looked after by previous caretakers including wall display for the last 11 years. A decorative, attractive and inexpensive village rug from a region where nothing of note or quality has been woven for many decades.
€1500
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.
€1450
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
This very attractive, fresh piece is a typical example of the sought after rugs and runners woven around Sarab at the time. Well drawn, good natural colours, in excellent condition, original condition throughout. For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions, and scroll down.
An almost identical piece will be posted shortly, one inch shorter than this rug, woven on the same loom. Of the two, this lot 9170 is in excellent condition whereas lot 9171 has some minor condition issues. It will be priced at € 1275.-.
€1700
The pair (but can be sold separately) to # 9170, most probably woven on the same loom. This one has clearly been used a little bit more than # 9170, still in good condition but has very slight loss (1-2 knot rows) at each end (now secured), overbound side cords and a few small areas of very slight surface wear. If you look at the borders you can see how design elements vary between them, illustrating they were woven from memory and not to a rigid cartoon which became the norm a few decades later throughout Persia.
€1275.-
A finely knotted prayer rug with the two hands on top of a narrow field with small boteh motifs. Fine wool, lovely natural colours, in very good condition throughout with original side cords and no loss at ends other than a few kilim strands. As so often occurs in old Baluch pieces there is slight wool corrosion in spots piled in black. For further info on this piece click Recent Acquisitions and scroll down.
€2800
A truly beautiful, rare and early Caucasian rug of superb quality, kept in pristine condition by previous caretakers. The field design is unusual, the stylized motifs open to interpretation but no doubt incorporating zoo-morphic depictions (birds, eagle wings etc).
Most rugs of this quality, while staying in Azerbaijan, were either stored away for future generations or else proudly displayed (often sideways) on a wall. This rug belongs to the category of seriously collectible Oriental rugs, now extremely rare and set to increase considerably in value if properly looked after. For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions, and scroll down.
€6800
This lovely Caucasian village rug has all the qualities that for decades have seen an increasing collector's market. Charming, improvised freestyle designs, superb natural colours, high quality weave and great sizes for wall display as well as floor use.
In very good condition throughout with original kilim ends, good pile overall with only very slight surface wear in spots, free of repairs and sympathetically overcast side cords. It has kept the old hanging rings fitted along one side. For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions, and scroll down.
Latif Kerimov in his work Russian Collections shows a highly similar rug on pl. 53 that he places in "the village of Bijo, Aksu district Azerbaijan."
€4500
This is a beautiful, quirky and very well preserved 19th C tribal rug. Woven completely from the weaver's memory it's truly one of a kind rug, full of character and artistic inspiration.
In excellent condition throughout with original end kilims and near full pile intact, side cords intact but overcast, free of repair apart from a very minor reweave to the upper left kilim corner.
For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions, and scroll down.
€4400
This wonderful, early Avshar rug is a superb example of the group. The natural colours are just beautiful, as is the design which was probably inspired by the formal carpets from nearby Kerman but interpreted in a purely tribal fashion.
In excellent condition throughout with original kilims and side cords intact, only fractional surface wear in the centre and free of repairs. This is an important example of tribal rug art and should ideally be displayed on a wall although it is certainly fit for floor display given its condition. For further info on this piece, click Recent Acquisitions, and scroll down.
€6500
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
A typical Baluch piece with a lattice grid of "mina khani" flowers inside a powerful border, woven in high quality lanolin rich wool at a high knot count of around 145/sq inch. In near perfect condition apart from small spots of slight surface wear, the original side cords and end kilims present, free of repair. Ex a Swedish collection where it has been unused for two decades.
€2200
A robust, tightly knotted and decorative "Bokhara" rug, in excellent condition throughout apart from missing 2-3 knot rows at each short end. Antique "Bokhara" rugs are increasingly difficult to find, still in the top ratings for furnishing purposes where they tend to sit comfortably both in classical and contemporary settings.
€SOLD
Hamadan rugs of this design, known as "herati", were woven in several regions around the province. The colours in this example point towards the village district of Mehraban but other features point elsewhere (Taleghan?) - whatever the exact location of origin it's a very beautiful rug with great natural colours and good sense of balance and proportion.
In very good condition with only slight, even surface wear, over-bound side cords and secured at both ends, no repairs. A great furnishing rug with beautiful colours and superb, lanolin rich, wool pile.
€SOLD
An unusual Bakthiari rug with the allover "mina khani" flowers normally seen in other weaving districts far away from this region such as Veramin much further north. The natural colours have mellowed beautifully, giving the rug a truly "antique" appearance. The sky blue border frames the red field beautifully.
In fairly good condition throughout with signs of old moth nibbles in small areas near the border, side cords overcast and a couple of minute, old spot repairs.
€2300
A very finely woven Bakthiari rug with a highly elegant, symmetrically arranged design, to some degree inspired by the superb and complex rugs woven in nearby Isfahan. The clear, all natural colours are typical of Bakthiar work as are most of the motifs and ornaments, yet with a knot count of almost 300/sq inch the rug it rivals the best of Persian town weavings.
In excellent condition throughout, only missing the original short end kilim at the top end, free of repairs, it's a beautiful, hard wearing and highly accomplished example of its type.
€4400
A beautiful and unusual example of the high quality rugs from Tafresh, featuring exceptional, almost silky, wool and tight weave. Most Tafresh pieces are either a 16 foil center medallion of an all-over bird and flower design - this is the first one of its kind I have come across. In full pile and virtually perfect throughout, all original.
€2800
This very attractive rug is typical of the work by the Shishboluki - the centre four armed "crab" motif with its matching halved corners is often encountered, as does the linked, flowering plants in the main border. Later examples normally appear much busier in style, the earlier examples being far more attractive in their relaxed, open style of design.
Like all tribal rugs this piece was woven entirely from the weaver's memory and hence it's full of quirky, charming improvisations. The dyes are all natural, meaning the rug can be safely washed and be exposed to light without further fading.
In good condition throughout showing only slight, even wear, original side cords and no loss at short ends other than the original kilim strands. Free of repairs and ready to go on the floor, or on a wall where its visual reward is maximised.
€2900
