|
JULY 14, 2008
Hudson River Valley Collectors Further Empty Vault of Art-Level Rugs Gathered over Half-Century
Claremont Rug Company President Cites Global Leap in Recognition of Best Antique Rugs as Major Works of Art.
OAKLAND,
Calif.-- Jan David Winitz, founder and president of Claremont Rug
Company, today announced the acquisition of the final segment of an
astonishing trove of art-level 19th century Oriental rugs built by a
New York family over a 50-year period.
Winitz
characterized his three-segment purchase from the family of a retired
Wall Street financier based in New York's Hudson River Valley as "a
monumental assemblage of 19th century art-level carpets."
He
said it is not uncommon for a large collection to be divulged in stages
as the sellers "become comfortable with the process of appropriate
placement. At this level, we are dealing with significant pieces of art
and the passing of ownership is of a very personal nature."
More
than 70 additional pieces from the family's cache are being added to
the Collection event. The rugs will be available at Claremont's website
www.claremontrug.com, beginning
July 25 and at the gallery on the following day. The collection
comprises a range of rugs from art-level weavers, with some of the
pieces two centuries old.
Recent
international auction results demonstrate that the art market as a
whole has been extremely strong. "The response to the carpets in our
ongoing Hudson River Valley Collection sale verifies that the interest
in top-tier antique rugs shows equal vitality with other antiquities
such as art and antiques," said Winitz, a noted collector and investor
who created Claremont nearly three decades ago.
Last
month, a 17th century Isfahan sold for $4.4 million, more than double
the previous record price for a rug at auction. Winitz pointed out that
19th century rugs of the caliber of those in the Hudson River Valley
Collection rarely appear at auction, and "they regularly sell for
considerably above their high estimate."
Winitz
said, "The Collection has evoked reactions that reflect the superlative
caliber of virtually every piece. It is also indicative of a major leap
in the global recognition of the profound artistic significance of the
best antique rugs."
He said that many
ongoing Claremont clients, who previously bought rugs as high-end home
furnishings, see purchases of rugs from the Hudson River inventory of
art-level rugs as an opportunity to create museum-level collections,
which they display on the floors and walls throughout their homes.
Claremont's
clients, who are also fine art collectors and include more than
two-dozen people listed in the Forbes 400, have been accessing the
Hudson River Valley Collection to create additional inventories to
store and to rotate. As a result, Winitz said, "Every month this year
has been a record breaker for us."
Winitz
pointed out that there is substantial evidence that antique Oriental
rugs "are a precursor to modern Western art." He said, "We know that
many great Western artists understood the art value of great rugs and
studied them intensely."
He noted that
Cubists, notably Klee and Kandinsky, studied the abstract forms of
tribal rugs as they created "a new, non-representational artistic
aesthetic." Others, including Gauguin and Matisse, "were enthralled in
the rug's inventive use of color," he said.
Winitz
said, "Our clients are discovering what the first generation of
collectors recognized long ago, that the knowledge of combining color
and design seen in some rugs is as masterful as is found in any
painting."
He added, "Great rugs have a
profound emotive effect. Wool is a terrific medium for evoking great
visual depth and texture. The deeply patinaed surface of a
125-200-year-old carpet absorbs and reflects light in a manner that is
truly astonishing."
"As I have been
telling my clients over the past 28 years, first-rate 19th century rugs
are an under-discovered art form worthy of serious collection," he
said. "These are one-in-the-world items. Although their value is rising
dramatically, they are still available at a fraction of the price of
other forms of art."
The Collection is
the culmination of a three-part acquisition by Winitz. The first
segment consisted of 225 rugs, the entire collection of a retired Wall
Street financier. Soon thereafter, the collector's sister, who had
assembled a trove of her own, made 65 rugs available to Claremont.
Now,
she has revealed that these were just part of a more considerable
cache. She decided to divest the rugs that graced her New York City
apartment, along with those she had in storage. Both tribal rugs, such
as Caucasians and Afshars, and classical carpets, including Kermanshahs
and Hadji Jallili Tabrizs, are represented.
Winitz
said, "I am elated that this final group includes some of the most
extraordinary pieces in the entire Hudson River Valley treasury." He
mentioned in particular a 200-year-old Caucasian Memling Gul Kazak,
measuring 6x11 with a profusion of prized emerald and forest green. He
also cited a 150-year-old Hadji Jallili Tabriz in the size of 9-1/2 x
13 that has already been sold to a private client with "an
extraordinarily fine weave, superlative condition and a naturalistic
design drawn with astonishing clarity."
Winitz
is contacted periodically when serious collectors wish to divest
themselves of their carpets, but indicated that The Hudson River Valley
Collection is the most significant in his 28 years of business. Along
with American buyers, it has already attracted numerous purchasers from
Europe, some of whom have flown in for the event and others who have
made acquisitions from the selection on Claremont's website.
Also
see:
FINANCIAL TIMES - "Treasures You Purchase to Hold on to" (3/29/08)
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 - "Claremont Rug Company Acquires “Mother Lode” Collection of 19th Century Art Carpets" (2/12/08)
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" |
