A question I'm often asked is: How will antique rugs—a handcrafted artifact created on the other side of the world more than a hundred years ago—"work" in a modern home decorated with a collection of contemporary paintings, prints, photographs and sculpture?

For over thirty years, Jan David Winitz, President and founder Claremont Rug Company in Oakland, CA, has built a global reputation among carpet collectors and connoisseurs. Since Claremont Rug Company opened its doors in 1980, their niche has been a challenging, yet incredibly exciting one - offering only the finest in authentic, art-level antique carpets, coupled with entirely first cabin service.

Claremont Rug Company today announced the availability of a new, 28-page brochure which features 29 important, art-level 19th century Oriental rugs available at the Gallery.

Highlighted by a world record-price for an Oriental carpet sold at auction and the remarkable interest in rug-based interior design projects, the year 2010 has pushed the level of interest in art-level Oriental rugs to unprecedented heights.

The difficulty for connoisseurs to hone their eye for art-level 19th century Oriental rugs goes beyond their limited availability at individual galleries. The periodic international auctions invariably mix a few collectible carpets with dozens of pedestrian pieces.

When Claremont Rug Company announced an exhibit of a recent acquisition of 175 art-level, 19th century Oriental rugs, not even Gallery president Jan David Winitz was prepared for the response.