Oriental carpets began making their way into
Europe as early as the 14th century, but most of the oldest pieces are now only
fragments, often behind museum glass. When trade between Europe and the Ottoman
Empire became commonplace in the 1870s—and when Oriental rugs became de rigueur
in Victorian homes—the rug industry began to shift. Artisans began to create
carpets to suit European tastes, utilizing lighter colors and often an overall
pattern rather than centered medallions. The rugs were initially sent to London,
then shipped around the world.Among the most sought-after rugs from the late
1800s are those that were made for Ziegler, a German company based in
Manchester, England. The company took traditional Persian designs and altered
them for less-flamboyant Western predilections. A Ziegler Mahal rug sold at
Sotheby’s in April for $275,185, well above the estimate of $73,000 to
$92,000.
Polonaise pieces have also paid off handsomely for their owners.
These rugs, standouts because of their gold threads, were so-named because
Western Europeans thought they were made in Poland, where they first saw them,
not realizing they had been imported from Persia as far back as the 1600s. The
King Umberto Long Polonaise Carpet sold at Christie’s in 1993 for $691,390; nine
years earlier it had sold for $210,950. The Battilossi Esfahan Long Polonaise
carpet sold for $679,590 in 1994, over 150 percent more than its last sale in
1988. The hammer came down on the Rothschild Esfahan Polonaise rug at $688,740
at Christie’s in 1999. VALUE JUDGMENT
Over the course of the last century, the value of Oriental carpets has cycled
through periods of soaring highs and crashing lows. But knowledgeable collectors
who focus on fine antique rugs find that both the visual and financial
appreciation of their investment climbs steadily. |
Such spectacular valuations are not common, however.
Rosalie Rudnick, a collector from Boston, became enamored with the textiles when
a water pipe broke in her home. The flooding ruined her carpet, and her search
for new flooring brought her into the world of Oriental rugs. “The intellectual
part of the rug world is intriguing,” she says. “There is so much history that
goes into the rug, and generations of design.” Although she has profited from
her collection, she cautions that this field is not for someone seeking
spectacular returns. “If you’re lucky, you make money, but nobody gets rich.
Rare, unusual rugs are where you make the money, and even then it does not
always work out. Many times you overpay for the product.”
Used Rug Salesmen
While finely wrought antique rugs have appreciated in
value, a flood of rugs—some made by hand, others machine-fashioned—in the early
20th century marred the field and reduced values overall. Carpet dealers became
infamous for dubious sales tactics: staging continuous going-out-of-business
sales, or vanishing as quickly as a flying carpet after the deal was done. In
some respects, the last two decades of the 20th century were even harder on
Oriental rugs, contends Danny Shaffer, editor of Hali, a London-based magazine
on rugs and Islamic textiles. “The middle market of the ’80s and ’90s was quite
heavily overhyped. People paid a lot of money for things, and a lot of people
were left sitting on equity. It did little to improve the perception of what
terrible people rug dealers are.” Reputable dealers of antique and new rugs now
adhere to a set of guidelines that attempt to weed out questionable
practices.
As for new Oriental rugs, authentic, handmade pieces are
expensive, and they can prove sound investments. But fashion comes and goes,
Shaffer warns. “Rugs can be good investments depending on designers’ whims.
Styles change. At the moment, light of color and empty of design is in fashion.
But when colors return, big, pale rugs will sell for less than what was
paid.”
Even in the realm of rare antiques, however, there is no guarantee of
appreciation. “If you are going to become a collector,” says Elizabeth Poole,
vice president and the head of the rugs department at Christie’s, “it is because
you love the object, not because you are going to make money. There is
appreciation, but it’s picky; collectors don’t want second-rate things.
Condition is a big issue.” While wear is expected—a rug is walked on, after
all—excessive damage or poor repairs hurt the value.
Jon, however, holds
fast to the belief that as an objet d’art, as well as an investment, Oriental
carpets hold great potential. “Rugs are largely unknown and tremendously
undervalued when you see what goes into their making and the impossibility of
reproducing them,” he waxes.
Of course, their true value resides in the eyes
of their beholder. “People who are successful collectors have to trust their
eyes,” Jon says. “They should go with their heart and what they love. With my
first rugs, I just bought what I loved, and I’ve never regretted it. Place your
faith in your own aesthetic. There are no guidelines, just the spark.”
RESOURCES
Claremont Rug, www.claremontrug.com
Hali Magazine, www.hali.com
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