Oakland Company Buys Rare Antique Rug Collections

Oakland, CA, Oct. 3, 2008--Claremont Rug Company has purchased three major antique Oriental rug collections, totaling nearly 200 art-quality 19th century carpets.

Jan Winitz, who founded Claremont in 1980, called the purchase "a bounty of major pieces," including top-tier examples of classical and
tribal Persian rugs. No terms of the individual transactions, acquired from families in London, Boston and Charlottesville, Va, were disclosed.

Dubbed "The Threefold Collection," by Winitz, who said the rugs would be offered for sale in an event at his gallery and on the company's website starting Oct. 11.

Winitz, a leading global authority on 19th century Oriental rugs, is contacted periodically by major collectors who wish to divest themselves of their carpets. Earlier this year, Claremont offered "The Hudson River Valley Collection," gathered over a 50-year period by four members of a New York family. Winitz called the response by his clientele "frankly astonishing."

Characterizing the art market for investment level antique rugs as "extremely vibrant," Winitz said, "These three collections come to us at a vital time. During the summer, a 17th century Isfahan sold for $4.4 million at auction, more than double the previous record price for an Oriental rug."

In April The New York Times wrote that "antique rugs are increasingly rare, connoisseurship is more sophisticated and prices are escalating."

Winitz said, "The three collections embody a wide-ranging group of extraordinary rugs. Nearly half are roomsize and oversize carpets. We are elated to be able to offer our clients another opportunity to consider a breadth of choices in very seldom-found pieces. Connoisseurs will appreciate their rarity and investment value, while clients furnishing their homes will be attracted to their sheer beauty."

Winitz said that one piece, a 150-year-old Sultanabad, measuring 17 x 24, "is unique, unlike any carpet I've seen in my three decades of collecting. It's a world-class gem."

A major motivation for collectors, Winitz said, "is that top-tier antique rugs provide another dividend: they are investments that can be lived with and immensely enjoyed as they grow in rarity."