Medallions
For many of us, an antique carpet evokes an image of an old fashioned rectangular Oriental piece with a central medallion, flanked by four spandrels, or corner motifs, within a distinct border, probably embellished with a rather hectic floral decoration. This stereotype is far from the real story and carpets with centralized designs can be the most elegant or harmonious, the most experimental or unusual of all. Central devices can range in scale from the smallest flowerhead on a geometric Persian Heriz to the grandest bouquet filled cartouche on a French Savonnerie. They are found in both Eastern and Western carpet production from all time periods. This is not your grandmother’s rug!
George III Axminster Carpet of Lansdowne House Design
Price on application
Woven in the workshops of Thomas Whitty
England, after 1777
14ft 2in length x 13ft 10in width
4.32m x 4.22m
Provenance: Â Lansdowne House, London
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Heriz Carpet
Price on application
Persia, circa 1880
10ft 9in length x 10ft 7in width
3.28m x 3.23m -
Tabriz Carpet
Price on application
Persia, 19th Century
11ft 6in length x 9ft 0in width
3.51m x 2.74m
