Leading the sale was this small medallion Ushak rug, Türkiye, Seventeenth Century, 4 feet 10 inches by 3 feet 5 inches; it sold to an international buyer for $125,000 ($30/50,000).
Review by Carly Timpson
BOSTON — On January 16, Grogan & Company conducted an auction comprising 204 lots of Fine Rugs and Textiles from diverse backgrounds, including a significant selection from the collection of Wolfe Rudman, consigned by the late collector’s wife. In total, the auction realized $1,410,125. Lilia Hutchins, marketing coordinator, shared, “the average lot value was $8,924, which, especially for Fine Rugs and Textiles, we consider to be quite impressive. There were 459 active bidders across all platforms and bidders from 70 different countries.”
Prior to the auction, Michael B. Grogan, president and auctioneer, noted, “Wolfe Rudman assembled his collection with care and passion, out of the limelight…What a treat it was to immerse myself in the splendid rugs with his wife Tara and plan this auction, an event that memorializes the collection as it passes to future caring owners.”
In a catalog note introducing her husband’s collection, Tara Rudman wrote, “Wolfe continued to selectively collect more of these unique rugs, keeping his focus on the mid Nineteenth Century. He studied publications, auction house sales and became acquainted with other collectors.” As such, many of the rugs from Rudman’s collection had provenance to the German dealer, collector and scholar Eberhart Herrmann.
Leading the sale was an Ushak or Oushak rug from Türkiye, which departed from the Rudman collection. This Seventeenth Century rug had a small central medallion and a detailed blue, red and yellow floral border. The catalog noted, “the graceful cloudbands in the border of this opposed-arch rug are rare, and can be seen in the Philadelphia Museum of Art example” (Ellis, Charles Grant, Oriental Carpets in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, 1988). In addition to belonging to Rudman, this particular rug had provenance to Herrmann and a December 1991 Sotheby’s, New York sale. It was featured in Herrmann’s 1992 Asiatische Teppich-und Textilkunst (Asian Carpet and Textile Art) as well as a 1978 edition of Hali Magazine. The rug ultimately sold to an international buyer for $125,000, far exceeding its $30/50,000 estimate.
At $106,250, this circa 1850 “type C” star Kazak, Caucasus, 6 feet 4 inches by 4 feet 3 inches, was the second-highest priced lot ($30/50,000).
The only other rug to hit six-figures was another with Rudman and Herrmann provenance. This one, a “type C” Star Kazak from Caucasus circa 1850, had an extensive catalog note including an excerpt of a letter from Herrmann that read, “The Star Kazak I sold to Wolfe was published in Schürmann, Teppiche aus dem Kaukasus, 1964, Tafel 3. I bought it from Munich architect Prof. Hart collection. It is still a unique piece in size and colour within the Star Kazak group. I picked the piece up at the country home, Lake Ammersee and handed it over to Wolfe in Zurich.” It was also published in Museum für Kunsthandwerk’s (Frankfurt, Germany) 1962 catalog Kaukasische Teppiche and a 1980 issue of Hali Magazine. Tara Rudman said that this was the most expensive rug her husband ever bought and with that purchase “he had set his mind in a new direction.” It sold above its $50,000 high estimate for $106,250.
A circa 1850 Caucasian Kazak double niche prayer rug from Rudman’s collection achieved $40,625. While this one did not also have provenance to Herrmann, a similar example was depicted in the scholar’s Rare Oriental Carpets IV (Munich, 1982).
Almost square but not quite, a “fine” Kuba, or Quba, rug from the third quarter of the Nineteenth Century had provenance to both Rudman and Herrmann and was illustrated in Herrmann’s 1991 Asiatische Teppich-und Textilkunst. With new salvages, per the catalog, the dark blue geometric-patterned rug was bid to $34,375. Achieving the same price was a Turkish Kis-Ghiordes rug. From the first half of the Nineteenth Century, this small rug was purchased by Rudmann in a June 2007 Sotheby’s, New York auction. The catalog noted, “The border of this remarkable Kis-Ghiordes is similar to that of a Seventeenth Century ‘Transylvanian’ rug in the Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu, Romania… It is likely that this rug predates most of the rugs of the Kis-Ghiordes type that are known.”
This Kuba rug, Caucasus, third quarter of the Nineteenth Century, 4 feet 4 inches by 4 feet, came from the Rudman collection and was sold for $34,375 ($8/12,000).
Not all of the top results were from Rudman’s collection, however. Earning $53,125 was a mid Nineteenth Century Suzani embroidery from the Emirate of Bukhara, Uzbekistan. With provenance to George Gilmore and a prominent Los Angeles collector, this embroidery, according to the auction catalog, was “predominantly in basma stitch with chain stitch” and it had a central eight-pointed star medallion surrounded by allover flower and shrub designs.
Another Suzani embroidery of similar origin and provenance brought $43,750. This example, featuring silk embroidery on a cloth made up of five strips of woven dark cotton, was predominantly detailed with the yurma stich. Also notable was the guard border, which was inscribed throughout with Persianate script. Of this embroidery, Tara Rudman wrote: “There are fewer than 10 known examples of Suzani with Persian script panels. This example is stunning from top to bottom. A delight!”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.groganco.com or 617-720-2020.
