Manhattan - Rugs and Carpets

Antique Persian Kerman oriental carpet, size 9'4"H x 5'8"W, circa 1920. This antique hand-knotted Persian rug features a striking ivory central field, with a central medallion. The...

Vintage Spanish Savonnerie rug, room size, circa 1930. A one-of-a-kind vintage European Savonnerie Oriental carpet, hand-knotted with sh...

Handmade antique NW Persian carpet. Woven, circa 1880 (late 19th century). Persian informal rug, runner size 3'8" x 9'0". All-over design with Herati and floral pattern on navy backg...

Vintage Persian Kerman oriental carpet, size 7'1" H x 4'1" W, circa 1950. This vintage hand-knotted Persian rug features a striking ivory central field, with a central medallion in ...

An antique Turkish Oushak rug in runner format handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 2' 8" x 10' 9" Turkish rugs carpets: Until the Great Persian Carpet Revival in the later 19th century, the “Oriental rug” was Turkish. For nearly six centuries, Turkish rugs, both scatter, room size, and even larger, thoroughly dominated the European import market. Whereas the Persian carpet can be divided into urban, village, and tribal types, in Turkey and its predecessor the Ottoman Empire, rugs almost exclusively came from village weavers and from a small number of urban workshops. Ninety percent village, nine percent city, one percent tribal. Turkish weavers have, with very few exceptions, always worked with the symmetric (Turkish) knot. Wool foundations are standard practice among both town and village weavers. The exceptions, very finely woven 20th century and recent Herekeh silks from near Istanbul, and early 17th century Ottoman Court rugs from Bursa, constitute only a tiny part of the total. Always pricey, they appealed and still appeal to the clients who want lots of knots and perfect execution instead of individual personality. The urban workshops have been centered around the western Turkish city of Oushak and its attendant port town of Smyrna. Oushak weaves with the trends in fashion. When color saturated medallion carpets were needed, Oushak was ready in the 17th and 18th centuries. When coarse red and blue carpets were required, Oushak and Smyrna in the 19th century wove them by the boatload. When tastes changed again, and the European dealers in Smyrna wanted room size carpets with lighter and unusual colors, and with Persianate designs, production ramped up in nearby Oushak. Those antique, all-wool construction turn-of-the-century carpets are still in high demand with designers. Antique carpets with allover, roughly drawn patterns on grounds of shrimp, rust, straw, cream, pale blue, and pale and pea green, hitherto unavailable colors, are in such demand today that contemporary Oushaks have attempted to mimic them with soft palettes, extra-large scale drawing and coarse weaves. Oushaks woven for the Turkish market, for palaces, houses and mosques were often oversize with large, repeating medallions, all in shades of (Turkey) red, dark blue, light blue-teal, and ivory, with lemon and green accents. Turkey, along with India, invented standard sizes. By vertically repeating the medallion, one could get one medallion, one with two end halves, two, three, etc. medallions, up to thirty or so feet in length. The process spared making new cartoons for each length and allowed a quicker turnaround time. Oushak, from the time of 15th century “Holbein” rugs onward, has always been a commercial center. The prayer niche directional rug is primarily a Turkish development. In the towns and villages east of Oushak, in Ghiordes, Kula, Ladik, Kirsehir, Mucur and Konya, among others, arch pattern scatters with bright palettes and weaves varying from relatively fine to moderate were almost the entire production. Antique examples were particularly popular in America around 1900. Other centers of village weaving were situated on the western coast and adjacent islands with the town of Melas and neighboring villages weaving geometric prayer rugs and scatters with a characteristic khaki green and lots of yellow. The other large region was in the northwest of Anatolia, near ancient Troy, with the sizable town of Bergama at its center. The satellite towns of Ezine, Karakecilli, Yuntdag, and Canakkale all wove colorful scatters with moderate weaves in all wool with geometric designs and cheerful palettes. Near to Istanbul, these were among the first Turkish rugs to reach Europe in the Renaissance. The earliest Turkish pieces depicted in Italian Old Master paintings display the so-called “Memling gul”, an allover panel pattern with hooked and stepped elements within the reserves. This pattern continues for centuries in the Konya area and in the Caucasus as well. Turkey is a land of villages and much of the most interesting Turkish weaving comes from one undiscovered village or another. The Konya-Cappadocia region of central Turkey includes the active towns of Karapinar, Karaman, Obruk, Sizma, and Tashpinar, all weaving Konya-esque scatters and long rugs. Karapinar has been active the longest, since the 17th century. The mosques in and around Konya have preserved locally-made rugs from the fourteenth. In the 20th century, the extra-long pile, many wefted Tulu rug was devised, with limited palettes and color block patterns. These are not really antique Tulus, but they must be a product of long-standing village tradition. There are thousands upon thousands of rural Turkish villages, almost all with easy access to local tribal wool. Rug students are discovering new names and rug types almost daily. The common denominators are bright colors, geometric designs, wool construction, moderate to coarse weaves and symmetric knots. Synthetic dyes hit the Turkish rug industry quickly and hard after 1870, and they penetrated to even the most off-the-beaten-track villages. This development was almost entirely negative. The village weavers used fugitive or overly bright dyes which ruined the color harmonies built up over centuries. Characteristic types disappeared or were negatively transmuted. The Turkish village rug of the 1870 to 1920 period is nothing to be proud of. In the eastern provinces, the semi-nomadic Kurdish tribes, collectively called ‘Yuruks’, weave all wool, geometric pieces with medium to medium-coarse weaves, as well as kilims and other flatweaves. The rugs employ cochineal instead of madder for the reds, mustard yellows, greens, and various blues. They are under-collected like the Persian Afshars. Their rugs are in scatter and long rug formats. The far eastern Turkish town of Erzerum has a long tradition of idiosyncratic, semi-workshop rugs and further to the east is Kars with a tradition of rugs in the Caucasian Kazak manner. One Turkish specialty is the Yastiks or cushion cover, made in pairs for the public living rooms of village houses. These are larger rugs in miniature and good ones are highly collectible. Like other Turkish rustic weavings, ones with synthetic dyes are almost totally undesirable. Only the tribal Baluch make similar cushion covers, known as pushtis or balishts, in the same small, oblong format. Yastiks always have a back, usually in plain weave, so that they can be easily stuffed. When the Imperial Carpet Factory at Herekeh near Istanbul closed in the early 20th century, the highly proficient Armenian master weavers set up in the Kum Kapi district of Istanbul where they wove all-silk, exquisitely fine and elaborately detailed small pieces, sometimes enriched with metal thread, for the most discriminating European buyers. Today the best, signed Kum Kapi pieces, usually in the “Sultan’s head” prayer niche design, can fetch upwards of $100,000. They are strictly for the wall. An Interwar all-silk room size Kum Kapi carpet is both exceedingly rare and stratospherically priced. The workshops closed in the 1930s, but the weaving of extremely fine, all-silk small rugs in Herekeh was revived in the 1960s. There has been a recent vogue for larger Turkish village vintage...

Early 20th Century American Navajo Eye-Dazzler Rug ( 3'6" x 5'3" - 107 x 160 )

19th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet ( 10'6" x 15' - 320 x 457 )

Antique American Hooked rug, Size: 4'2"x4'10".

Antique Chinese Art Deco rug. Size: 8'8" x 11'4".

This long rug format cotton flat-weave shows eleven vertical (!) off-white stripes with split ends, all set on the delightful, denim blue ground. Clear figure/ground distinction. Vin...

Antique Indian Lahore Oriental Rug, size 12'2" H x 9'0" W An antique Indian Lahore Oriental Rug, size 12'2" H x 9'0" W, in Room size, circa 1890. This fine floral wool rug features...

Early 20th Century Turkish Oushak Carpet ( 12'3" x 15'10" - 375 x 485 cm )

Late 19th Century Turkmen Tekke Ensi Carpet ( 4' 1'' x 4' 6'' - 125 x 137 cm )

Marvelous Antique Belgian Tapestry, Country of Origin / Rug Type: Belgium, Circa date: 16th century. Size: 8 ft x 9 ft 6 in (2.44 m ...

Antique Persian Heriz Karaja Oriental rug, size 5'7" x 4'9". An antique Persian Heriz Karaja oriental rug, size 5'7" x 4'9...

This midcentury vintage Pelas flat-weave rug is handwoven in Turkey with hand-carded, hand-spun Persian wool, and all natural dyes. Custom sizes and colors available. Rug size 7'4" ...

2'3 X 12 Beige Silk Wool Hand Knotted Runner. A wonderful modern wool and silk hand knotted runner. Colors: beige/cream/gold/browns.

Magnificent and finely woven neutral earth tone color antique oversized Persian Tabriz rug, country of origin / rug type: Persian r...

This vintage Turkish Silk Hereke rug, circa 1960, is an exceptional example of master-level weaving, crafted entirely of pure silk pile and silk foundation. Displaying an intricate g...

Early 19th Century Turkish Anatolian Kula Carpet ( 4'6" x 5'2" - 137 x 158 )

18th Century English Axminster Carpet 4' x 7' - 122 x 213

MATERIALS Semi worsted wool and bamboo silk Knot handwoven Atelier india Materials semi worsted wool and bamboo silk Quality dhurrie Colour standard Fringes Notes

1930s Chinese Art Deco Carpet ( 13'8" x 24' - 417 x 732 cm )

Antique African Moroccan - Boucherouitte rug, size: 3'9" x 5'6".

The Mid-Century Modern Collection is skillfully sourced by N A S I R I and exclusive to our showroom. These flatweaves embody the minimalist sophistication that emerged in the mid-20...

An early 20th century Turkish Sivas. Sivas is a city in North Central Turkey, which is a major production site of Turkish rugs based on Persian designs. Often finely woven, Sivas rug...

A turn of the 20th century Caucasian Shirvan carpet.

Fit for a Rothschild, this large antique French tapestry-woven carpet shows a large, layered oval medallion with an ivory central panel enclosing a detailed rose bouquet., all on a s...

Antique Persian Qum rug, size: 3' 5'' x 5' 3''.

Beautiful Navy Blue Antique Tribal Caucasian Kazak Rug, Country of Origin / Rug Type: Caucasian Rug, Circa Date: 1880

Artistic Vintage French Tapestry by Lars Gynning, country of origin / rug type: French Tapestry Rugs, Circa date: Vintage

An antique flat-woven French Aubusson carpet from the turn of the 20th century.

A vintage Chinese pictorial Art Deco room size carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 8' 11" x 11' 1"

This all-cotton construction tapestry woven square carpet shows a neutral field with off white quarter circle corners and a round off white central meda...

Antique Persian Tabriz Oriental carpet, circa 1910, Room Sized An antique Persian Tabriz oriental carpet, circa 1910. Size: 12'9" x 9'2". This large sized antique decorative rug w...

A vintage Turkish Anatolian rug from the mid-20th century. Measures: 7' 3" x 9' 2".

A vintage Persian Mahal folk throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 0" x 5' 1".

A vintage Chinese Peking throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century with a cream border and light blue field. Measures: 2' 6" x 4' 3" The craft of the hand-knotted carpet in China, and the surrounding areas including Mongolia and Tibet, extends into the early centuries of the first millennium, C.E., but we really have a firm grasp only beginning in the later 16th century with large, very coarsely woven carpets, often depicting dragons, created for the Imperial Forbidden City palaces. Chinese carpets have always been commercial and there are no tribal groups responsible for any of the carpet weaving strains. When the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644, with no Imperial patrons, production moved to the city of Ningxia in north central China where several workshops turned out more finely woven pieces for the Mandarins of the administrative Ch’ing bureaucracy and well-to-do merchants. Ningxia was the major Chinese carpet center up through most of the 19th century, with first allover and then medallion designs on cotton foundations in medium weaves. Palettes were initially limited to yellows, dark blue and cream, but later widened to include reds, browns and even green. These antiques were the first Chinese carpets to be exported to the West and they fitted in well with the craze for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in the second half of the 19th century. Ningxia also wove shaped and rectangular small rugs for saddle underlays, chair (“throne”) seats and shaped backs, pillar carpets with dragons or monks for Buddhist monasteries, and long divided runners for monastery meditation halls. These small rugs are among the most collectible of all Chinese weavings. Weavers from Ningxia set up workshops in the capital Peking (Beijing) in the 1860’s and began weaving Western room sizes for export, primarily to America. In blue – and – white and polychrome palettes, with round wreath medallions, precious objects, seasonal flowers, paeonies, lotuses, fretwork, clouds, butterflies and bats, all relatively spaciously drawn. The round “Shou” (Good Luck) character is also a prominent decorative motif. There are also a few Peking landscape pictorials with pagodas, houses, bridges, waterscapes and boats. Peking carpets were woven right up until WWII and production began again after the Cultural Revolution around 1970. They are moderately well-woven, on cotton foundations, exactingly executed and indisputably Chinese. Many are in the blue-and-white style. Nothing else looks like a Peking carpet and for a Chinese “look” in a room, they are absolutely indispensable. Sizes range from scatters and a few runners, through the popular 9’12’ size, to large carpets over 20’ which must have been special orders. The earliest Peking Revival carpets are pliable and fairly thin, but they became heavier and more compact in the 20th century, in competition with Art Deco carpets from Tientsin. The modern, post- 1970, pieces are in the traditional Peking style, but are a little too regular and neat. Exactitude has been favored over character, as hard to explain that as it is. There are a number of all-silk and silk-and –metal thread pieces, many with inscriptions purporting to link them with rooms in the Imperial palaces, bringing very substantial auction prices, but none are really antique. The genre emerged after WWI and the present demand comes from mainland Chinese. The silk piles often stand in pattern relief against flat woven gold metal thread grounds. The inscriptions are apocryphal, the rugs are flashily opulent, perfect for nouveaux riches. The Art Deco period between the two World Wars saw a distinctive carpet industry developing in Tientsin (Tianjin) in northeastern China. These are highly prized for their transitional design character, neither overtly Chinese, nor abstractly modern/contemporary. Woven exclusively for export, usually by and for American firms, such as Nichols and Elbrook, they are totally in the “Jazz Age Modern” style of the 1920’s, often without borders, with abstract or abstracted patterns, and only with, at best, a few Chinese-y pattern elements. Vases asymmetrically placed in the corners are features of some of the more Chinese-y carpets. Open fields with floral sprays and branches growing in from the edges are anther design innovation. Often, Chinese motives have been re-imagined in more sharp-edged, abstract manners. Some have no references whatsoever to natural elements. The patterns are sharp and the rugs are never subdued, soft or restrained. The rugs are heavily constructed, with crisp, unfading dyes and medium to medium coarse weaves on cotton foundations. All are extremely well-executed, with none of the vagaries, variations or twists found on even high-quality Persian rugs. The majority are in the 9’ by 12’ format and a surprising number can be found in top condition. There also was a substantial production in Peking from, especially from the Fette factory. Elliptical and round carpets, and lighter, often pastel colors, were a specialty. Nothing looks like an Art Deco Chinese and they work well with traditional Chinese furniture and the most modern decor as well. These is no substitute for a good Chinese Art Deco carpet. Chinese carpets also include small scatters from Tibet, with high quality wool, floating dragons and allover textile patterns. The colors of vintage and modern pieces are bright, but there are antique small rugs...

A vintage Persian Gabbeh throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 10" x 5' 9".

Early 20th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Rug 2'x2' 2"

An antique French Aubusson carpet, size 14'0 x 10'9, circa 1890. This fine Louis Philippe era flat-woven French wool carpet features an elegant floral medallion at center, and a uniq...

Antique Persian Bijar rug. Size: 4'3" x 6'10".

An antique Persian Lavar Kerman carpet from the early 20th century.

An antique Persian Tabriz Haji Jalili accent rug handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 4' 0" x 5' 7".

This piece is a Grenfell 1 feet in diamater hooked mat (or silk embroidery mat) — a handmade textile from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, produced by the Grenfell Mission in the e...

This long pile, coarsely woven long carpet shows a beige seafoam field with an open diamond lattice allover pattern, within a brown border with trompe l'oeil strapwork forming cartouches enclosing bouquets. A massive carpet...

an early 20th Century Persian Tabriz Small Room size rug Details rug no. j4677 size 7' 1" x 9' 10" (216 x 300 cm)

Chinese - Art Deco. Measures: 9'0" x 11'8".

Antique Chinese - Ningxia rug, size: 6' 8'' x7' 4''.

A modern Turkish Mohair room size carpet with a grey-colored long and lustrous pile from the 21st century in the style of minimalism. It may be used as a stand-alone piece or the fou...

A contemporary Turkish flat-woven Kilim carpet from the fourth quarter of the 20th century. This rug was woven with repurposed old wool to give it a vintage look and feel.

Antique Persian Tabriz Oriental Carpet, circa 1900, Room Sized An antique Persian Tabriz oriental carpet, circa 1900. Size: 12'9" x 9'2". This large sized antique decorative rug wa...

1920s Chinese Art Debackground measuring 9' x 11'9" Green background with yellow border.

Mid-20th century Moroccan 'Boujad' carpet.

a mid-20th-century European room-size rug in muted colors Details rug no. j2944

Beautiful Large Size Vintage Spanish Rug, Country of Origin: Spain, Circa Date: Mid 20th Century - Size: 13 ft 10 in x 17 ft 6 in (4.22 m x 5.33 m).

Antique Silk Kashan Persian Area Rug, Country of origin: Persia, Circa date: 1900. Size: 9 ft x 13 ft (2.74 m x 3.96 m)

A vintage Turkish flat-weave Kilim room size carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 9' 0" x 12' 2" Flat-weave rugs carpets: Knotted pile rugs are just on...

A terrestrial/aquatic dragon rises from stylized waves while a celestial dragon descends from fungus whorl clouds with two flaming pearls in the plain areas of this black on black Ar...

A worn square size late 19th century Lavar Kerman Rug with an all-over floral pattern on a pale green background Details rug no. j4794 size 9' 7" x 10' 10"