9/28/16
Quiet !
9/29/16
Christie’s , NYC has scheduled a general antique auction on Oct. 18th titled “Collections” that features 5 “classic” tapestries and 19 various decorative rugs and carpets . Nothing in the group for serious collectors but if your a decorator there may be something for you .
9/30/16
Not of importance to the rug world but still part of the textile realm , Sotheby’s , London also has a sale scheduled on Oct. 26th titled “Collection’s” that includes 11 “classic” tapestries . Again not my cup of tea but a couple of them look kind of interesting so if that’s your area of accumulation its worth a moment of your time to take a quick look.
10/1/16
Out of town visitors!
One fresh and intriguing piece of rugdumb news .
Circa Auction Gallery of Providence R.I. held a general antique sale on Sept. 11th , ( ? ) that included one silk Chinese rug worth a line.
Chinese carpet ( approx 6×9 ? ) with a pre- sale est. of $6-12,000.00 which ended up selling for $ 54,000.00 , all in. Don’t know who continues to buy these somewhat unappealing items but the market for them stands strong !
10/2/16
And next up one of the more anticipated events of the season !
Christie’s , London’s “major” fall rug and carpet sale scheduled on Oct. 18th is now live ” on the line” for your viewing consumption.
So what we have is 157 total lots of rugs , carpets and flat weaves from most all the major weaving areas .
After a half dozen passes through the sale inventory I have to say I am a little underwhelmed . I really did expect this group to include a couple of scarce and desirable top shelf items to fire up the rug collecting universe but alas not this time around. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of good to better pieces in the sale just nothing at all in the way of a true screamer . Definitely nothing for the Turkmen enthusiast. I am sure there are folks out there that may think I am being too critical of the assortment but something in the way of a barn burner of any type would have been nice . Yes , i am also aware that caliber of piece is elusive to come by but it sure would have been cool to give the collectors out there something to belly ache about . We can just hope that Ms Broadhurst and Mr French will have better luck down the road !
All that aside I did notice a couple of lots worth a line or two.
The abominable snow mans younger brother !
Lot # 78 , Tabriz pictorial rug . Pre- sale est. £ 2,5-3,500.00 . Strange , unusual and something no one needs buts still kinda appealing !
Lot # 90 , Khotan carpet , 18th century ? Pre-sale est. £ 40-60,000.00 . In my opinion one of the better pieces in the group if the condition is up to speed .
10/3/16
10/4/16
Kick the tires and light the fires kiddies , next up we have Sotheby’s , London’s Nov. 1st ‘major” sale hot on the heals of the Christie’s announcement .
Sotheby’s has come up with 156 lots of rugs carpets and textiles to tempt your mind and of course e wallet , this time out .
Let’s see where to start , where to begin on this one .
After multiple passes through the inventory my impression is this . In my mind this sale is slightly more interesting to the collectors eye than the Christie’s sale . Don’t be alarmed it’s only my opinion , nothing else . Still it seems a little more of a varied hodgepodge. Like the Christie’s endeavor this sale includes a good mishmash of better pieces but again as with the Christie’s group nothing in the way of a real standout collectors item to get the rug world wire buzzing . As usual with a Sotheby’s , London sale this inventory is anchored with a substantial inventory of Persian & Tukish city pieces in good condition geared toward the European retail trade. However the mid range collectors items included are to my taste a little more absorbing than the Christie’s group but nothing truly exciting . Unfortunately still nothing in the way of an even modestly noteworthy Turkmen item , where have they all gone ? Perhaps the Sotheby’s rug dept. will be the ones that come up with a Turkmen of note , first ?
After all that there are a couple of items I felt interesting enough to mention .
Lot # 81, Ninghsia mat , 18th century . Pre-sale set. £ 5-7,000.00 . Scarce and if the condition is decent a reasonable starting point .
Lot # 103, Ghiordes rug ,.pre-sale est. £ 8-10,000.00 . Unsual and with a somewhat aggressive starting point but as always it’s not where you start it’s where you finish.
10/5/16
Bonham’s , London has a sale titled “Islamic and Indian Art ” scheduled on Oct. 18th that features a group of textiles from Turkey , India and other areas of the east . Nothing as far as rugs or carpets are concerned but if velvet items , ikats , susani’s and the like are your area of interest it’s worth your time to peruse the inventory .
10/7/16
Hold your horses and gather your thoughts it only 14 days till ART’s , S.F. The suspense and anticipation build !
10/8/16
Very quiet !
What have we here ?
Skinner’s, Boston , Ma. is now live “on the line” with their “major” rug and carpet sale scheduled on Oct. 21st. so let’s just see how Mr Kearney and the rug dept. stack up against the competition.
For starters this is a fairly substantial undertaking by the Skinner’s rug dept clocking in at 424 total lots of all manner of hand loomed pieces . Looks like they are trying to make for the lack of top shelf items with quantity and lower priced items. As it’s been with Skinner’s past sales nothing much in the way of a standout example in the whole group . That’s not saying there aren’t some intriguing pieces in the inventory just not much you would want to consider to be at the high end . They are however keeping on track with their past few sales and including a large selection of Kashmir or Paisley type shawls so if this is “your thing ” this may certainly be your opportunity . There are also plenty of beginner style collectors pieces with varying degrees of condition issues which should keep the costs in line if your on a budget. So with this many pieces in one place at one time it’s worth everyones time to take quick look !
10/9/16
Early morning road trip . Thenout of town visitor . And commerce !
You can’t blame a compass for always pointing North ? , Sheik Frederich, 2016.
Song o the week , “latest 2 fer” You decide !
The Yardbirds , Shapes of Things on “The Yardbirds Story” ,1966 .
Gary Moore , Shapes of Things on We Want Moore , 1984 .
