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February 12, 2008
Claremont Rug Company Acquires “Mother Lode” Collection of 19th Century Art Carpets
200 Rugs Include Masterpieces; Exhibition Opens March 1
OAKLAND,
Calif.-- Jan David Winitz, founder and president of Claremont Rug
Company, today announced one of the most significant single
acquisitions of art-level antique rugs from a private source in the
past decade.
The collection will be available, starting Saturday, March 1 at the Claremont Rug Company showroom in Oakland.
The
international investor and author said, “It feels like striking the
Mother Lode. Many of the rugs are unique from any others that I have
seen in my more than 30 years of investing. It is rare that a
collection of this caliber becomes available and we were honored that
it was offered to us.”
The collection was acquired from a Wall Street financier who wishes to remain
anonymous. His primary residence was in the Hudson River Valley in New York.
“The
range of carpets is astounding and was put together over a 50-year
period,” Winitz said. “It contains extraordinary examples of all of the
most important Near Eastern weaving styles from throughout the 19th
century as well as some first-rate circa 1900 pieces.”
Included
in the more than 200 pieces is a 15x21 Tabriz masterwork from the
workshops of renowned Hadji Jallili. “It is one of the finest examples
from this central carpet designer that we have ever seen, and is in
nearly perfect condition,” Winitz said. “We believe that it took a team
of about 15 weavers upward of a decade to complete. It represents a
monumental artistic and technical accomplishment.”
Another
piece of a magnitude that has not appeared on the international market
in this generation is a 200-year Persian Bakshaish, measuring 12x19,
with an early archetypal rendition of the important “Dragon and
Phoenix” motif.
Included in the
collection are rare tribal rugs as well as village and classical
carpets, including a “superbly preserved,” circa 1800 Karabagh from the
Caucasian region with a one-in-the-world design and color palette. This
8x11 piece is also unusually large size for this style.
A
wide selection of the pieces will be displayed throughout Claremont’s
three-showroom gallery. There will also be a special section with a
sampling of the rugs available on Claremont’s web site, www.claremontrug.com).
A world-recognized connoisseur and author, Winitz recently delivered two globally
significant, invitation-only lectures about the rugs from the Caucasus Mountain region.
“We
have a truly singular position in the antique rug market,” Winitz said.
“When divesting a life-long collection, connoisseurs are as interested
in ensuring that the rugs are made available to other aficionados who
will truly appreciate them as they are in the economic aspects of
selling. For instance, in this case, knowing that we present rugs as
works of art to a clientele of connoisseurs and lovers of beauty, the
collector came to us exclusively.
Now
in his 80’s, the anonymous seller said, “the rugs in my collection are
my dear old friends.... My first desire is for them to go to people who
will appreciate them and benefit from them as much as I have.
“My
late wife and I literally put them in every nook and cranny of my
houses — on the walls, draped over banisters, on table tops, in
pantries and dressing rooms,” he said.
“We even draped several over furniture like in the old Dutch paintings.”
Winitz, who maintains a substantial private collection of his own, said
“if we didn’t maintain a strict policy of offering to our clients all
the rugs that we acquire through the corporation, I would definitely
keep a number of them for myself.”
All
of the rugs in the collection will be available for viewing and
purchase, starting at 10 a.m. on March 1 at the Claremont Rug Company,
6087 Claremont Avenue in Oakland.
Also
see:
FINANCIAL TIMES - "Treasures You Purchase to Hold on to" (3/29/08)
Download printable version 
MARKET WATCH / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - "Global Leap in Best Antique Rugs as Major Works of Art " (7/14/08)
Download printable version
MARKET WATCH / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - "Domestic and International Connoisseurs Embrace Antique Rug Sales Event in “Next Frontier of Art Investing” " (6/2/08)
Download printable version
THE MERCURY NEWS - "Rare rugs" (5/30/08)
Download printable version
YAHOO FINANCE - "Claremont Rug Company Announces Additional Hudson River Valley Collection " (4/30/08)
Download printable version
REUTERS.COM - "Claremont Rug Company Holds Globally Significant Exhibition… Rare, 19th Century Caucasus Rugs" (12/17/07)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Increasingly Savvy Clients and Decreasing Availability Combine with Internet To Create Perfect Storm in Rare Rug Market" (10/24/07)
Download printable version
MORNINGSTAR.COM - "Demand for Antique Carpets and Rugs Expands While Availability is Reduced" (9/16/07)
Download printable version
FORBES.COM - "Leading Antique Carpet Dealer Cites Boom in Internet Sales" (9/5/07)
Download printable version
WORTH MAGAZINE - "Masterpieces Underfoot "
Download printable version
CALIFORNIA CEO - "Putting
Out the Red Carpet: The Claremont Rug Company has woven a close
relationship with its customers thanks to a wise use of the Web."
Download printable version
CIO Magazine
- "Carpetbaggers: The Claremont Rug Co., purveyor of antique carpets
made centuries ago by Southwest Asian nomads, has benefited doubly from
the great leap forward to the Internet."
FINANCIAL TIMES - "How
To Spend It: East bay passions. The sit-ins are long since over, says
Holly Finn, but Berkeley has plenty to shout about...The Claremont Rug
Company - one of the world's best sources of antique carpets - is here."
Download printable version
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - "Art At Your Feet: Antique or copied oriental rugs express their weavers' inspirations"
Download printable version
OAKLAND TRIBUNE - "Web Helps Rug Store Clinch Sales"
BEL AIR ARTICLE - "What Hotel Bel Air (Beverly Hills, CA) says about Claremont Rug" |
