19th Century Antique Tibetan Dragon Carpets

It’s very rare to see this type of work – it’s a specialty.
Dragons are one of the more popular designs on antique Tibetan carpets, as the Dragon is a good luck symbol in Tibetan folklore – Tibetans consider the Dragon to be a benevolent being, bringing goodwill to mankind. This is in sharp contrast to the way ancient Western culture portrays the Dragon – in George and the Dragon, for example.
Dragons on Tibetan rugs usually take the form of a Thunder Dragon, or more rarely, a Wood Dragon. Thunder Dragons are often seen on Tibetan carpets with clouds denoting their passage through the sky. They are called Thunder Dragons due to the noise they make as they pass through the heavens. Lighting may also be seen on a Tibetan carpet featuring a Thunder Dragon
The Thunder Dragons of Ancient Tibetan Carpets aren’t mere flying creatures. They also rule the seas and hold dominion over the rain. The Tibetan word for Dragon is ‘Druk’ – and it appears on all kinds of textiles and objects – from ancient Tibetan Carpets to Paintings, in Architecture and murals. To the Tibetans, Druk is a magical creature that lives in the clouds.

Eastern Carpets and Persian Rugs turn up often in the book known as 1001 Nights, also known as Arabian Nights and 1001 Arabian Nights. 1001 nights is a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories and folk tales compiled originally in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age – which took place from around 750-1258 AD (or 750-1258 CE).

During the Islamic Golden Age, Eastern Kingdoms were known for fantastic ancient textiles, ceramics, glass, metalwork, eastern carpets, Persian rugs, illuminate manuscripts, and intricate embroidery. The Eastern textile markets flourished, with spectacular Persian rugs, tapestries, eastern carpets and wall-hangings from the region becoming very important as works of Art.

The stories in 1001 Nights can be traced back to ancient and mediaeval Arabic, Persian, Indian, Turkish and Mesopotamian folklore and literature – particularly Pahlavi Persian work (from the first millennium AD), which explains which Persian carpets have a special place in many of the stories. The magic carpet, or flying carpet as it’s often known in the West, was brought to Western audiences through the stories of 1001 Arabian Nights. In our story below, taken from the collection of tales, the magic carpet of Tangu (also known as Prince Houssain’s Carpet) is a seemingly innocent Persian carpet, which turns out to have a spectacular magical ability. Even the Sultan of the Indies himself declares “I have a great many rarities in my museum already, but nothing that comes up to the carpet, the ivory tube, and the artificial apple, which shall have the first place among them, and shall be preserved carefully, not only for show, but to make an advantageous use of them upon all occasions.”

Our Eastern carpets and Persian Rugs in the gallery also have a magical quality, although they do not fly or transport you to places, anywhere but in your imagination. They have a timeless quality and an elegance that defies the hundreds of years since their manufacture by hand. That is why our clients and collectors find our antique Persian carpets and ancient Eastern rugs so desirable – they reflect a Golden Age, a time in history when the East led the world, producing fantastic discoveries in Art, Medicine, Philosophy, Mathematics and much more. Their timeless beauty reflects a bygone age of incredible achievements and fantastic ancient textiles and Art.

Persian carpets are in the middle of an ongoing international struggle with tensions growing between U.S. allies, Iran, and trading partners that include China and Russia, but very few antique Persian carpets are actually imported from Iran. The majority of these pieces have been in the hands of western collectors and dealers for the past century.

With the last Iranian carpets legally imported to the United States on September 29th, consumers have the chance to take advantage of this investment opportunity. Antique Persian carpet prices are expected to soar as market competition for fine investment pieces grows and supply dwindles. In an uncertain market with a diminishing supply of antique rugs, savvy investors and knowledgeable consumers have the opportunity to make smart buys on one-of-a-kind pieces at deflated prices.

In the current political climate there is no way of predicting how long the sanctions will last. Given the tensions between Iran and the Western world, it is inevitable that the price of this art form will escalate in the near future.

Christmas has come around fast again this year and if you  are entertaining at home, now is the time to make sure you do not have any spills, or mess left on your precious rugs.

The most important thing to do when you have a spill, is to react immediately and not to leave it till later. The more you can do straight away, the less the problem will be.

Wine, food or whatever !!! clean it fast, below is a list of what could happen and our suggestions to clean the problem.

If you have a question email us, we will try and help.

A Happy and Healthy New Year to all our clients. We appreciate you and your business and look forward to us all having another successful year.

Below are a few tips for Rug Care and Cleaning

Recently back from the Highpoint exhibition, we were pleased to see the continued revival in the Home Decorating Market and its impact on both the rug scene and design interest in Tapestries.

Tapestries have never really been given the importance they can bring to design and as a way to enhance and decorate a room. Compared to paintings they really are under valued and we have been working hard, to bring them to the attention, of designers and to try and show what can be achieved with their use.

Our selection of tapestries has grown over the past few months and we have now one of the most comprehensive ranges, both in style and subject matter. One area we have added to are tapestries from the early 20th century, these bring a dramatic and modern feel to this art form.

 One of the reasons area rugs are as popular today as they have been for the past hundreds of years is the tremendous variety of styles, colors, sizes, shapes and materials available.

In addition, redecorating a room with a new area rug is far easier and more economical than painting, re-wallpapering, buying new furniture or even replacing the window treatments.

But some people want to go even further in their quest to put their own personal stamp on their homes. It is for these people that the world of “one-of-a-kind” area rugs exists!

For economic reasons – and a few practical ones as well – most large retailers can’t offer their customers a product of which only one exists in the entire world. A big-box retailer or chain functions in the realm of mass merchandising. They buy vast quantities of items, which are then mass produced, and sell them at the lowest margin possible. Profits are only possible when selling in volume. This is as true for area rugs at these stores as it is for toothpaste, soups, orange juice. But shouldn’t an item like an area rug that is used to personalize a living space and coordinate home-design elements exist in a slightly different, more “artistic” retail world?

Lida Lavender says. “Rugs are a true art form. Everyone wants to place the best-quality, most beautiful rug they can find on their floors. It’s only natural, just as it’s natural to want to be unique. Because of the wide variety in personal tastes, and the huge number of rugs available, it’s highly unlikely you are going to see the rug you purchase on someone else’s floor.”

The solution, of course, is to buy a “one-of-a-kind” rug. This means exactly what it says – a hand-made rug, designed and woven by an artist who is applying a particular design and color scheme to this one rug.

“Sure, you can spend a lot of money on a top-quality, one-of-a-kind rug,” says Lida Lavender. “Some of these rugs take years to make and will last several lifetimes. In many ways they represent more of an investment than a practical design solution – especially if you have kids or pets! But a one-of-a-kind rug isn’t automatically priced beyond most people’s budgets. There are many factors that influence the cost of a beautiful rug. Exclusivity doesn’t always translate to expensive,”

One-of-a-kind rugs are almost all made of 100% wool. This is the traditional material that has been used for thousands of years to create the best-quality, most durable rugs, and it remains the fiber greatly preferred by modern craftsmen. Once in a while you’ll see a little silk woven in for contrast or to add sheen.

We can have made especially for our clients one-of-a-kind rugs in almost any style, traditional, contemporary and also recreations of classic rugs using different color ways and to any size.

Also from our Antique collection you will find rugs that are truly One-of-a-kind rugs as well.

Welcome to our blog. We will be putting here what we hope you find are interesting facts and articles about our industry and if you have any suggestions please let us know.

For over 100 years the family have been involved in the Rug and Textile trade.

Our goal is to inspire our clients with the quality and beauty of Antiques that offer a personality, ambience, and character, when creating a very special look to a room. We therefore can provide the finest in antique and reproduction rugs and tapestries demanded by our customers

We concentrate on high quality Antique Rugs, Textiles, Tapestries and the finest Reproductions. Our company is unique within the antique rug business, in that it specializes in understanding and addressing the needs of the designer segment of the home furnishings market.