Leading the sale was a late Nineteenth Century Sultanabad rug from Persia, wool pile, cotton warp, cotton weft, 16 feet 1 inch by 23 feet 11 inches. It achieved $13,000 ($2/4,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy Material Culture
PHILADELPHIA — Material Culture presented an auction of Oriental rugs on Wednesday, March 27. The sale featured more than 430 rugs and other tapestries sourced from estates across America. Ninety-three percent of the offered lots sold and while rugs were the primary focus in the auction, the sale also included other woven textiles like horse coverings, prayer mats, shawls and bags. Material Culture owner George Jevremovic classified the auction a success, stating that 93 percent of lots sold — around 80 percent to private clients and 20 percent to resellers — and the total realized was $555,000.
The highest price of the day was achieved by a late Nineteenth Century Persian Sultanabad rug. Cataloged as “palace size” the Sultanabad rug covered nearly 385 square feet and was the largest rug offered in the auction. Woven with wool and cotton, the rug’s central pattern of repeating red, light blue and yellow floral medallions on a dark blue background was framed by several primarily red borders of varying widths and patterns. Originating from a Bucks County, Penn., estate, the large rug found a new home for $13,000, well above its $2/4,000 estimate.
This Konya rug, Central Anatolia, mid-Nineteenth Century, wool, 3 feet 5 inches by 10 feet 10 inches, made $7,150 ($5/7,000).
The second highest price was for a vibrant Konya runner from Central Anatolia, Turkey. The 10 geometric medallions, each in a different colored octagon, were arranged evenly in two rows and surrounded by an additional geometric border. The vibrant mid-Nineteenth Century hallway-sized rug achieved $7,150.
A Persian Karadja serapi from the late Nineteenth Century crossed the block for $6,985. This wool and cotton rug was woven with a central blue and red geometric floral medallion on beige ground, framed by more floral designs on red ground and a dark blue floral border. Also making $6,985 was an ivory, tangerine and light blue wool Oushak rug from Turkey, circa 1890. Despite a hole at the center of the rug, the early date and large size were cause for interest.
Also having a hole but still generating interest was a Mohtashem Kashan rug. This large, late Nineteenth Century Persian rug realized $6,250. At 14 feet 9 inches by 24 feet 5 inches, this was the second largest rug to finish among the top eight lots. From north central Iran, this Mohtashem Kashan had finely woven curvilinear shapes and botanical motifs in shades of red and blue on a cream background.
This Oushak rug, Turkey, circa 1900, wool, 12 feet 10 inches by 15 feet 10 inches, achieved $6,033 ($5/10,000).
Two rugs went out for $6,033. One, a circa 1900 Turkish Oushak rug, was woven with tangerine and pink details, a light blue solid central ground and a goldenrod floral geometric border. This wool rug was in restored condition. The other rug at $6,033 was a Persian Serapi from the late Nineteenth Century, which came from a Pennsylvania estate. Its primarily red hues were accented with light blues and greens, pink and cream details. Another Serapi rug from Persia in the late Nineteenth Century reached $5,938. Slightly larger than the other and with a cream ground and navy central medallion, this one had less noticeable wear and retained much of its original vibrancy and fine-line detailing.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Material Culture will conduct an auction of folk and outsider art on April 29. For additional information, www.materialculture.com or 215-438-4700.
