The Rug Bug
24 June 2021
‘Oriental’ is a category that encompasses a wide range of styles in the world of carpets, and comes with a fascinating history.
Jo Lawson-Tancred
Jo Lawson-Tancred writes about art and the art market for Apollo Magazine, The Financial Times, and The Economist's 1843 magazine, among others. She is also a data scientist, having completed her MSc in Data Science.
Early Serapi carpet, Persia, circa 1870, 4.03 x 2.64 m.
Image courtesy of Gallery Yacou.
Take any portrait of Henry VIII, fashioned to the hilt with all his trademark pomposity, and if you glance down you’ll likely see him standing proudly astride an Oriental carpet. Hans Holbein the Younger, the famous Tudor artist who painted the king’s best known portraits, often featured carpets in his work. These rugs became so distinctive they now bear his name; early Turkish rugs of the same patterns are dubbed ‘Holbein’ carpets. By the 16th century, Oriental carpets arriving to the West by way of Constantinople and Venice were all the rage. Henry VIII no doubt led the trend, collecting them by the hundreds.
Few who weren’t kings had much hope of acquiring a carpet, however. The textiles were so precious that rather than go on the floor they were often used as wall or table coverings. In the centuries since, keen collectors in the West have only increased in numbers, with their tastes eventually being directly catered to. Vestiges of the distant time and place of their creation, Oriental carpets also have a timeless appeal, as each generation finds new ways to integrate them into our modern interiors.
Monastir yastik kilim, Western Anatolia, mid 19th century.
Image courtesy of Owen Parry.
A great range of styles come under the term ‘Oriental’ carpets, which could refer to rugs from many regions between the Caucuses and India. Spoilt for choice, collectors tend to develop their interest in one of two camps. The most prestigious carpets are those woven on looms in royal workshops. These tend to bear the labyrinthine and densely florid designs we might associate with Persian rugs. Gaining a similar status in more recent decades are the antique tribal rugs hand-woven by nomads and villagers. These have a geometric simplicity that readily attracts a modern eye trained on minimalism and abstraction.
In either case, collectors seek out carpets for the time and region in which they were made, and their craftsmanship and beauty. Those interested in royal rugs might favour the best workshop of a certain city or century, while those looking for tribal rugs will be drawn in by the more unusual, quirky designs. ‘Early pieces have a naivety compared to later ones, which are boringly perfect and mainly made for a commercial purpose’, says Robin Yacoubian of Gallery Yacou.
Any carpet enthusiast is likely to be discerning about colour, avoiding the synthetic dyes used in commercial carpet production in favour of traditional vegetable dyes. ‘Antique colours mellow with age, and the abrashing or slight speckling has an almost painterly quality’, says carpet dealer Owen Parry. An auction at Christie’s on 1 April indicates something of the importance of age and rarity in setting prices. Most lots, dating from the 19th century, fetched up to £20,000. An early 17th century Kirman ‘Vase’ carpet from South East Persia sold for half a million and, stealing the show, an exceptional early 17th century Safavid silk and metal-thread carpet went for £2m.
Condition is often an area of necessary compromise for collectors, who cherish items intended to be walked on. ‘I know some collectors who are absolutely ambivalent about the condition of a carpet, they just want the oldest and rarest carpet and will have threadbare fragments of 17th century rugs hanging on the wall‘, says Parry. ‘I also know others who are fastidious about the condition of their rugs. If there’s a slight wear or a few rows of knots missing it might disqualify them from even considering it.’
Fine Qum rug, Persia, 1930, 2.06 x 1.38m. Rug weaving in the city of Qum only started at the beginning of the 20th century but the city quickly established itself as a centre for exceptional fine weavings. Qum is known for its unique decorative carpets with classically precise drawings and luxurious wool, often merino, setting it apart from other Persian weaving centres.
Image courtesy of Gallery Yacou.
Interior decorators also keep a beady eye for one-off pieces on the market, usually with a specific space in mind. With a trend for mixing and finding resonances between furniture and objects of different eras, the muted colours and understated patterns of village and tribal pieces harmonise particularly well with contemporary settings. Examples of this graphic simplicity include Caucasian Kazak rugs, the Serapi rugs of North West Persia or Qashqai rugs from the South West. Also popular are flatweave rugs, like Kilims and Indian dhurries, which sit happily beside an Italian table or Danish sofa.
Revival workshop carpets, often inspired by antique court rugs, were made specifically for the European market and tend to work better when recreating a more classic look. Particularly sought after are carpets commissioned by Ziegler & Co, an Anglo-Swiss company based in Manchester who had workshops in several cities in Persia. Their stylised designs match striking patterns with a softer palette.
As options abound to fit contemporary interiors of both classic and modern styles, Oriental carpets are far from the musty antiques some might mistake them for. Yacoubian believes that ‘a well selected carpet brings soul to a room, in the same way that pictures bring character’. ‘If you’ve never lived in a house with an oriental rug and then you send it away to get cleaned, it leaves a hole in the house’, says Parry. ‘Good oriental rugs introduce texture, colour and warmth to an interior and should be the foundation from which one builds upon.’
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