OAKLAND, CA.- The pleasure and individual character that art-caliber 19th-century antique Persian rugs bring to a home is no more apparent than as an enhancement to the dining experience. Whether placed in a formal dining room or a cozy breakfast room, savvy connoisseurs find the myriad of colors and the mesmerizing patterns create the perfect for a family meal and for grand entertainment. At Claremont Rug Company, with more than 2500 elite antique Persian and tribal rugs in its collection, collectors and lovers of beauty can find styles, weaving groups and color groups that fit their tastes and lifestyles.

This soft-hued, exquisitely refined antique Persian Tehran carpet makes a major contribution to the symphony of surfaces in this innovative contemporary space. As the sole textile element in the dining room, this circa 1900 Persian city rug adds an entirely unique and welcome avenue of expression.

The effect of this extraordinary Persian Bakshaish rug that will fascinate every dinner guest, including the most seasoned antique carpet connoisseurs, with its totally unexpected, yet profoundly harmonious allover design. Archetypal latchhook and cloudband contours recall the very earliest East Asian symbolism, and sit extremely well with delicately carved angels and European tapestry surroundings.

Masterwork carpets, such as this 19th-century Ferahan Sarouk that graces a genteel dining room, are avidly desired by seasoned designers and homeowners. The 160-year-old Ferahan tradition provides the essential foundation by which these great heights are reached: neither the incredible dexterity of its clear, profusely rendered natural forms nor the exquisite pastel and jewel-tone dyes can be found elsewhere, as dye masters capable of these long-lost techniques no longer exist.

Full room-size Malayer Camelhair carpets are quite seldom encountered. Surrounded by refined finishes and silver lighting sconces, the uncommon nuance within the subtly changing latticework becomes even more enlivening and fresh. The surprisingly sophisticated compositional effects present in the best 19th-century village carpets create a natural compatibility with elegant traditional decors, as well as modern spaces.

Animated by the elegant, infinitely detailed patterning of a one-of-a-kind 19th century Kermanshah Court carpet, this comfortable breakfast room becomes a uniquely invigorating environment in which to greet each morning. Delicate, virtually never seen hues of periwinkle, celadon, garnet and apricot are seamlessly integrated within the exquisite tracery of a profoundly creative allover design of floating medallions, becoming even more cheerful and welcoming when illuminated by the bright sunlight. The antique art carpet is at once refined yet casual in this relaxed, genteel setting. Note how the piece’s soft but potent aesthetic immediately resonates with the Impressionist paintings, Chinoiseries accent pieces and artisanal hardwood furniture to create a harmonious, inviting space.

With its open floor plan, the living area, kitchen and dining area of this voluminous family compound in the Northern Rockies are effectively one massive space. Its owners strategically selected this 10’ x 20’ Persian village rug from the 19th-century to play the central role of defining the dining room. The rug’s abstracted botanical design and amaranth red field are the perfect enhancement of this grand family space with its plethora of rough-hewn wood surfaces and exposed beams.

The intensely creative, stylized botanical patterning of a 19th-century Persian Sultanabad carpet with a seldom-encountered ivory field unifies the colors, finishes and forms of the dining area of this inventive contemporary Southern California home. Abundant accents of rare teal green support the custom upholstery and lighting, but most subtly connect with the space’s natural contributors: the lush foliage of palm and orchid within the room, and the garden outside. The Sultanabad’s versatile large-scale allover pattern effortlessly accommodates this activity, adding its own elegant, keenly observed floral vinery to intensify the casually dramatic atmosphere.

An early Persian Laver Kirman rug becomes the essential link in realizing the artful, nuanced vision for a casually elegant entertaining space of this Spanish colonial home. The homeowner, an accomplished collector of traditional art and antiques, immediately realized how the carpet’s complex design and understated colors would quietly anchor the diverse textures and hues of her ambitious design and used one-of-a-kind pieces as the foundation for a comprehensive aesthetic. The antique rug seamlessly mingles indoor and outdoor: as they pass between spaces, guests are continually greeted by new vantages, unified by the carpet’s magnetic presence.

When invigorated by shimmering sunlight, the stunning color palette and stylized allover floral designs of the best antique Oriental Sultanabad village carpets impart a special energy to a room that makes it a magnetic focus — both of the décor and of a family’s social life. The architectural structure of this mid-19th-century Persian carpet’s stylized vinery recalls the minimalist, well-proportioned lines of the Cherrywood chairs and the modern French doors leading to the patio.



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