Oriental Carpets and Persian Rugs the O'Connell Notes

March 27, 2008 Rug of the Day! Kum Kapour Lot 91: Sotheby's 1985

Wendel Swan was kind enough to share the TM Karapinar tulip long rug. A wonderful rug from a wonderful Museum.

April 19 important Program at the (wonderful) Textile Museum
Rug & Textile Appreciation Morning: "Classical Rug Fragments"
Daniel Walker, Director
Saturday, 10:30 am
Sometimes some people think I am tough on the Textile Museum. Just for the record I love the Textile Museum and think it is wonderful. In fact without a doubt the TM is the greatest institution of its type in the world.

Karen DiSaia successful Connecticut Antique Rug Dealer Succeeds in Show Management as well Connecticut Spring Antiques Show Remains One Of The Great Venues Apr 1st, 2008 By Laura Beach
:In the three years since Karen DiSaia assumed management of the Connecticut Spring Antiques Show, March 8 and 9 at the Connecticut Expo Center, the 35-year-old fair benefiting the Haddam Historical Society has steadily found its footing.
Happily, the show remains one of the great venues for pre-1840 New England furniture and appropriate accessories; a rare survivor from an earlier era of collecting. At the same time, Di Saia has enlarged the 70-exhibitor display, persuading some of the trade's leading figures to return and subtly making the show's content more diverse.
http://antiquesandthearts.com/Antiques/AntiquesShows/2008-04-01__15-05-27.html

Tschebull Antique Carpets to Close
Raul "Mike" Tschebull's Tschebull Antique Carpets Collection, Darien, Connecticut will close and inventory will be sold at auction. More to come...

12 of the greatest Anatolian rugs ever collected from a collection that overshadows even the Vakiflar in all it's magnificence. Or as some say a group of over-hyped overly early dated rugs of dubious provenance. Either way the Christopher Alexander Collection is an important collection and 12 of them are up for sale at Christie's ORIENTAL RUGS AND CARPETS Sale 7572 10 Apr 2008 London, King Street

We talk about more than just Karapinar rugs take a look at Understanding Uzbek Embroidery by James C. Allen

My dear friend Ed Krayer has been a big help over the years in building this site. Now he is going out of his way to help with this Karapinar project. He sent Karapinar Tulip Rug from Ed Krayer to me. take a look at the white main border.

Karapinar rugs can be among the best of the Turkish village rugs and this one is among the best of best. Please see Karapinar Tulip Rug from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Another of the great rugs are Karapinar Medallion Rug Alexander Collection and Karapinar Red Ground Rug Alexander Collection. You can't add the Alexander rugs without Berdj Achdjian's great yellow ground tulip fragment coming to mind. see Karapinar Yellow Ground Tulip Rug from Berdj Achdjian.

Washington’s Textile Museum Explores a Planet of Weavers

I found a few more Karapinar Rugs so I added them to the notes. Please see Karapinar Long Rug 18th century Lot 23, Karapinar Kilim-Like Long Rug 18th century, Karapinar Curling Leaves Rug 18th century. I also spotted a rug that seemed to share Karapinar like qualities so I added Konya Area Rug Fragment circa 1600

R. John Howe has a new blog that focuses on TM programs see 18th and 19th Century Anatolian Carpets: Keshishian and Seidman

Two more Karapinar rugs today Karapinar Medallion Rug 17th century and Karapinar Medallion Rug circa 1900.

Another Karapinar Tulip Group rug from Wendel Swan: Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Long Rug Fragment from the Wolf Collection. Marilyn and Marshall Wolf are major American collectors from New York City. With the Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Long Rug C. 1600 and Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Long Rug from the Vakiflar Museum Circa 1600 - 1700 we can see the delineation of a cohesive and important sub-group of Karapinar rugs.

Rug Rag has a fun piece on the Highest Prices Paid for Oriental Rugs One of the rugs is a Chelaberd Kazak sold by Freeman's Auctioneers in PA at a hammer price of $341,625. A nice rug but not the type to typically bring over $10,000 a square foot. What then made this rug special?
It was from the estate of Robert Montgomery Scott. It had belonged to his mother Helen Hope Montgomery Scott who was the famous society beauty who inspired two major motion pictures. In one she was played by (The Philadelphia Story) Katherine Hepburn and in the other (High Society ) by Grace Kelly. And now you know the rest of the story as Paul Harvey says.

Oriental Carpet Books Sell In Strange Ways Tea and carpets looks at an interesting part of the Oriental Rug trade, the books.

I received a wonderful treat: Wendel Swan has sent me an image of the oldest known tulip style Karapinar carpet. Please see Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Long Rug from the Vakiflar Museum Circa 1600 - 1700. Wendel has become one of the really import rug scholars today. Wendel in many ways reminds me of the late Charles Grant Ellis who did careful painstaking research for the shear joy of studying rugs.

My old friend Jim Allen saw the note on Hotamis Kelims below and sent me the images on one of his. For Jim's kelim take a look at Turkish Rugs: Hotamis Kelim 3rd Quarter 19th century From Jim Allen. Thanks Jim I certainly appreciate people helping me fill in the sections I am missing. Jim and I have been close friends for almost 10 years and we have never met. Now we are talking about going to a Hajji show in New York. The Hajji Baba Club is having its 75th anniversary and having a show to celebrate. I belonged to the club for one year but I always felt out of place and not terribly welcome so I let the membership lapse. That club is for serious collectors and I am more of a dilettante who collects pictures and makes lists. But it should be a good show and it would be great to finally shake hands with Jim Allen. Besides I helped Harold Kisheshian get the two pieces ready that he is loaning to the show and it would be good to see them hung. Then again I may just skip the Hajjis and see Jim some other time. I will have to think about this.

It is so much fun to open the Sotheby's London catalog since Jackie Coulter is back. Between Mary Jo in New York and Jackie in London and Europe it is hard not to love Sotheby's. Here are a few highlights from Sotheby's New Bond Street: Arts of the Islamic World. Auction Dates: Wed, April 9, 2008 2:30 PM Oushak Rugs: Star Ushak Carpet late 16th Century, Ottoman Silk and Metal Thread Multiple Niche Brocade Mihrab Panel

I think I am starting to understand Hotamis Kelims a little on the basis of a shared border with Turkish Rugs: Hotamis Kelim Circa 1800 I decided that Turkish Rugs: Hotamis Konya Kelim 1st half 19th century had to be a Hotamis and i also added Turkish Rugs: Hotamis Turkmen Konya kelim 19th century to my notes.

I didn't have any Dazkiri rugs in the notes so I added Turkish Rugs: Dazgiri/Dazkiri Rug 18th century as well. as long as I was at it I threw in Turkish Rugs: Konya Yastik 19th century and Turkish Rugs: Kurde/Kurdish Rug 2nd half 19th century.

On first day of Spring (and NowRuz), clean that rug!

Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Rug Single medallion composition from Ed Krayer

I told Ed Krayer A Member of Our Trusted Dealers List that I was working on Karapinar Rugs and he was gracious enough to send me a number of rug images. Please note the arrow like intrusion of the field into the spandrels which I see as a key identifier of a particular subgroup of Karapinar Rugs. This is an outstanding example. Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Rug Single medallion composition from Ed Krayer. I also added Turkish Rugs: Three Mihrab Karapinar Prayer Rug from Ed Krayer and Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Yatak Rug from Ed Krayer.

To my Christian Friends may these Holy Days be a special time of reflection and growth, He is risen!
To my Persian Friends Happy and Joyous NowRuz !

I added two more Karapinar Rugs; I found two from Bonham Butterfield's Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Carpet Runner Late 19th Century and Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Rug with plain rose field. I saw the Late 19th Century Karapinar Carpet when Ed Krayer and I toured the auction preview in San Francisco. Ed has had a few Karapinar rugs including Turkish Rugs: The Krayer Konya Karapinar Turkish Rug so we looked carefully at the Late 19th Century Karapinar Carpet. I will check with Ed and get his recollection since I remember thinking the rug was a bit odd. For one thing I have never seen a purple quite like it.

RugRag weighs in on How to Hang a rug - How Can I Display my Rug as a Wall Hanging For those of you who want ideas on using rugs on the floor try The placement of rugs.

I got an email from an old friend today. One of the real experts in Oriental rugs, a guy to whom I always pay careful attention. Not to say that I never disagree but this fellow has handled so many great rugs that I have to consider what he says. I was really pleased when he told me that my notes were a help in one of his new research projects. Now my notes especially on Turkish rugs are at a fairly basic level but it is good to know that people I respect can get some use out of them. I am still trying to build up my Turkish sections. Yesterday I added: Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Carpet 16th C. from Alberto Levi and Turkish Rugs: Karapinar Long Rug 18th C. The second one is from Sotheby's New York Fine Oriental and European Carpets
Sale: NY7117 Lot 103A, Wed, Apr 15, 1998. Now Mary Jo Otsea was in charge of the carpet department then (she still is) and she tends to have one of the best eye's for rugs in the business. But I still have to wonder about the date. Mary Jo can be a touch conservative at times but I am wondering what about the rug says 18th century and not 17th. That being said Mary Jo Otsea is another of the people who I trust and respect so there is a pretty good chance that she is right. If anyone wants to agree with me or explain what I am missing I would enjoy hearing.

Help with Auction catalogs needed

If anyone ever has old auction catalogs that they wish to dispose of I am missing many. I have a number of Sotheby's New York and some Sotheby's London. But I am missing almost all Christie's, Nagel, Rippon Boswell, Butterfields, Skinner's, etc... If you are willing to donate or set the price low enough I am interested.

A Rare Oushak Carpet In A Czech Castle Catches The Rug World’s Eye

Good Bye to an old friend: Ursula Eland McCracken
Old friend and former Textile Museum Director Ursula Eland McCracken died from Cancer Monday March 17, 2008. Ursula guided the TM from 1986 to 2004 through some difficult and trying times. During her tenure at the TM she pushed for an expansion from a carpet focus to a broader textile focus. This allowed McCracken’s outreach and vision to bring about a dramatic increase in the size of the endowment.
Ursula retired from the TM in 2004 and recently found the time and energy to serve as Director of Major Gifts at the American Pain Foundation. Prior to coming to the TM Ursula served as Director of Development at College of Notre Dame of Maryland in Baltimore. Before that she served as Editor of Publications at the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore Md. Ursula received her Bachelors in Art History at Wellesley and two Masters degrees from Johns Hopkins University (Liberal Arts and Administrative Science)

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