One of two lots to earn the sale-high price of $75,000 was this Salor two gül wedding trapping, Turkestan, circa 1800, 2 feet 8 inches by 7 feet 6 inches, which was categorized as rare and sold during session one ($75/125,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
BOSTON — Two sessions and more than 250 lots made up Grogan & Company’s Fine Rugs and Textiles Auction, conducted January 15-16. The sale featured notable selections from the collection of Dr Michael Steinberg, early Anatolian rugs from a notable Massachusetts family and rugs from the personal collection of Julien Lafayette Taibi. Senior marketing coordinator Lilia Hutchins reported that the sale realized $1,912,063, with a sell-through rate of 86 percent. “We had bidders from 16 countries, nearly 5,000 registered bidders and 380,960 lot views,” she explained.
Hutchins continued, “We were extremely satisfied with the overall results of the sale. The auction delivered two energetic days of bidding in our Beacon Hill gallery, following four very busy days of exhibition that attracted clients from around the world. Throughout the sale, rug collectors and private buyers participated actively in person, by phone and online. Collectors from across the globe responded strongly to this once-in-a-generation offering, driving the sale to nearly $2 million in total and underscoring the strength of the market for high-quality rugs and textiles.”
Session one saw the highest price of the sale at $75,000 for a Salor two gül wedding trapping rug. Made circa 1800 in Turkestan, the rug was part of a “select, highly sought-after group of Salor weavings known as kejebe-design wedding camel trappings,” according to catalog notes. It had provenance to Steinberg’s Beverly Hills, Calif., collection.
Rolling out for $43,750 was this Salor 16 gül chuval, Turkestan, circa 1800 or earlier, 3 feet by 4 feet 5 inches, from the Michael L. Steinberg collection ($30/50,000).
Two additional Salor rugs sold on day one, including another two gül example in the chuval pattern. Made circa 1800, or possibly earlier, the carpet measured 3 feet by 4 feet 5 inches and landed within its $30/50,000 estimate at $43,750. A Salor curled-leaf trapping made in Central Asia in the mid Nineteenth Century rolled out for $2,000.
Also earning the highest price on day one was a pinwheel Kazak rug made in Caucasus circa 1850. With provenance to the Steinberg collection, the 7-foot-2-inch-by-6-foot example more than doubled its $20/30,000 estimate to make $75,000. Fifteen additional Kazak rugs sold, ranging in price from $3,437 for a tree Kazak rug from the Taibi collection, to $43,750 for a Type C star Kazak rug made in Caucasus in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. The latter had provenance to both Galerie Eitzenberger and a 2020 sale at Rippon Boswell.
A star Ushak rug, also from the Steinberg collection, made $65,625, the second-highest price of the day. It was made in Anatolia circa 1800 and far surpassed its $20/30,000 estimate. One additional Ushak rug from Anatolia, this example made circa 1900 and with provenance to Dildarian Rugs in New York City, sold for $16,250.
With provenance to the collection of Michael L. Steinberg, MD, Beverly Hills, Calif., this Star Ushak rug, Anatolia, circa 800, 6 feet 11 inches by 5 feet 6 inches, more than doubled its $20/30,000 estimate at $65,625.
A different type of carpet made in Anatolia was the singular Karapinar rug in the sale, which came from the region and was made sometime in the Seventeenth Century. It hailed from a notable Massachusetts family and made $59,375, more than seven times the high end of its $5/8,000 estimate.
Another unique carpet was a silk and metal-thread Kum Kapi from the personal collection of Yadid Dardashti. The 6-foot-by-4-foot-4-inch rug was possibly woven by Zareh Penyamin circa 1920 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Several Kirman pictorial carpets sold on the first day, led at $31,250 by an example with a design inspired by a Louis XIV Gobelins tapestry titled “La Danse d’une nymphe, de la droite,” which was part of the “Les Sujets de La Fable” series, after Raphael. According to the auction catalog, the tapestry “features a festive putto playing a tambourine within a floral landscape, detailed in the Roman style with a bacchic ‘krater’ flower-vase. The guardian deity Pomona is shown being courted by Vertumnus, who is disguised as a faun playing the pipes of Pan. A version of this specific tapestry, displayed in the Public Rooms of the Golestan Palace in Tehran, likely served as the inspiration for the Kirman weavers of the present lot.”
“There were several additional lots that stood out for exceeding expectations,” shared Hutchins. “Lot 45 [a Turkish silk Tree of Life rug], for example, realized $17,500 against a presale estimate of $3/5,000, while Lot 92 [a Sultanabad carpet made in Persia circa 1875]achieved $16,250 against its estimate of $2/4,000. Results like these exemplify both the excitement of the auction process and the reality that when multiple bidders are competing for a work, exceptional pieces can far surpass their initial estimates.”
Topping session two at $41,125 was this Cairene carpet from the Sixteenth Century, 8 feet 3 inches by 5 feet 1 inch, which made more than ten times its $4/6,000 estimate.
Day two was led by a Sixteenth Century Cairene carpet with provenance to a New York collector. Earning nearly seven times the high end of its $4/6,000 estimate, the rug rolled out to $41,125.
The second-highest price of the day — $15,000 — was earned by a chinoiserie rug attributed to Ernest Boiceau, which depicted vignettes of people boating, fishing and doing other laborious activities in black against a red ground. Most notable was its provenance, as it was purchased in 1938 by Katherine Urquhart Warren of New York City and Newport, R.I., an “avid art collector who was elected a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art (New York) in 1943,” according to catalog notes.
An Indian silk embroidered textile roundel was another standout lot, quadrupling its $2/3,000 estimate to achieve $12,350. It measured 28 inches in diameter, was made circa 1800 and depicted soldiers, noblemen and various animals, such as elephants, peacocks and tigers. It had provenance to both Peter Marks Works of Art in New York City, and a Massachusetts family.
Hailing from East Turkestan circa 1850, a Khotan multiple Saph prayer rug doubled its high estimate to make $10,000. Following close behind was a Seventeenth Century Persian Vase carpet with provenance to Gallery Moshe Tabibnia (Milan, Italy) and a Los Angeles collection, which sold under estimate for $9,750, and a Persian Heriz carpet woven in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century which sold for $9,375, above estimate, despite visible wear.
$10,000 was the winning price for this Khotan multiple Saph prayer rug, East Turkestan, circa 1850, 10 feet 7 inches by 3 feet 3 inches ($3/5,000).
Five Kuba rugs from the Caucasus region crossed the block during session two, selling for prices ranging from $1,250 for an example made the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century which was more muted in color, to $7,500 for a circa 1875 example with a yellowish ground and heavily decorated border, which had provenance to George Gilmore.
Hutchins’ closing comments reflected the range of buyers and bidders in the sale. “The buyers represented a very broad cross-section of the market. We saw strong participation from both private collectors acquiring works for their homes and collectors seeking standout, museum-quality pieces. Bidding was active across all channels, with robust phone participation, spirited in-person bidding and a consistently strong online presence. One of the most rewarding aspects of a rug sale of this caliber is the truly global engagement. We welcomed clients who traveled from around the world for the exhibition, underscoring both the exceptional nature of the offering and the international attention focused on our rugs and textiles department.”
Grogan & Company’s Fine Jewelry Auction will take place on April 26, followed by its Fine Art Auction on May 3. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
For information, 617-720-2020 or www.groganco.com.
