Oriental Rugs

Pektus of Aga John Oriental Rugs buys house

2009-07-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

Auto Web site exec buys in Highland Park

by Ernie Larson, published Jul 03, 2009 · ShareThis

385 N. Deere Park Dr. E

Mr. Pektus

Geoffrey Petkus and Arpie Petkus bought a four-bedroom, three-bath home at 385 N. Deere Park Dr. E in Highland Park from Susan Strulowitz and Michael H. Braverman for $775,000 on May 28.

The 6,564-square-foot house in Deere Park subdivision was built in 1929.

Mr. Pektus is director for product development at Edmunds.com, an automotive Web site providing new and used car reviews, specifications and pricing information. He also has been the director of e-mail marketing.

He received his B.F.A. in graphic design/multimedia from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Ms. Pektus is showroom sales and product developement manager at Aga John Oriental Rugs.

She previously was a design and project manager at Residential Real Estate Investment and Development. She also was a showroom manager at Tufenkian Carpets.

She received his bachelor's degree in fine and applied arts from University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

There were 276 sales in Highland Park in 2008, with a median sales price of $464,000.

Kristen Rockwell: O'Bannon Oriental Carpets in Lawrenceville

2009-07-01T09:49:00.000-04:00

Store owner weaves a life in the carpet trade

Saturday, June 13, 2009

By Patricia Sheridan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Andy Starnes/Post-Gazette

This Turkish carpet was made with pieces left over from other rugs.

From coloring with crayons as a child to negotiating in the twisting maze of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, it's been a magic carpet ride for Kristen Rockwell, who is celebrating her 10th anniversary as owner and proprietor of O'Bannon Oriental Carpets in Lawrenceville.

The transplanted New Englander and weaver said she has always had color and design in her life.

"I remember my sister and I coloring in our coloring books. It brought us pleasure and calmed us down when we were upset," she says.

She graduated from crayons to weaving designs in nonconformist materials. "I was using chicken wire and paper ribbon.... They were horrible, but they were the stepping stone."

Upon moving to Pittsburgh, she happened to walk into O'Bannon, then in Squirrel Hill. She was working as a weaver but needed a steady job in retail. Owner Pat Forbes, who had bought the shop from George O'Bannon, did not need any help, but the two became friends.

"I liked to hang out there whenever I could because it just made me feel better being there with the colors and patterns," Ms. Rockwell says.

A pattern became clear to Ms. Forbes, who after 12 years finally offered Ms. Rockwell a job. Three years later, she sold her the store. Several years ago, Ms. Rockwell relocated to the site of an old grocery store at 3803 Butler St., where she has more room and natural light to display her treasured inventory.

The shop features all sizes and styles of hand-loomed Orientals from tiny prayer-like rugs to contemporary, primitive and traditional designs to rare pieces best suited for wall hangings. Ms. Rockwell prefers the terms "tribal" and "classical" to primitive and traditional. Prices range from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On her first buying trips in the United States, Ms. Rockwell began learning the difference between chemical and vegetable dyes. In the late 1970s and early '80s, a company called Woven Legends from Turkey created more awareness of traditional looming methods and "greener" vegetable dyes.

These dyes are more expensive because they take longer to make.

"Madder root, which gives you red, takes six years to mature," Ms. Rockwell says.

Handmade wool carpets -- the only kind O'Bannon sells -- are also more expensive than machine-spun wool. With a bachelor's degree in fiber art from Carnegie Mellon University, Ms. Rockwell has a strong appreciation for the time and labor that go into handlooming Oriental rugs.

"It's all women who do the work, and yes, young girls do learn at their mother's side, which is different than actually making the rug," she says.

Ms. Rockwell says there has been a crackdown on child labor in the Middle East but abuses continue, which is why she is very particular about which producers she works with.

She made her first trip to Istanbul, Turkey, in 1999. Her husband, who understands some Turkish, is invaluable on such trips.

"It is a very different world to walk into as a woman and a business person," she admits.

Ms. Rockwell often finds herself in back rooms, crawling over obstacles to see the best pieces. When it comes to price, she often relies on her gut response to a carpet.

"I know a fantastic piece when I see it," she says, adding that there are many levels of fantastic and many variations on the traditional Oriental rug.

"Over the course of 12 years of doing this, I can be really fast moving through a place, picking rugs. But then there are certain families of rugs that could take me days because of the beauty and intricacy."

Gabbeh rugs from Iran are one type that has grown in popularity, she says. Considered a contemporary style, these carpets feature traditional elements that the weavers have interpreted in new ways. The women have artistic freedom.

"They are using traditional elements in a very primitive sense," Ms. Rockwell says.

One unusual piece in the store shows a camel caravan. "There is a lot of symbolism. The camels are sort of your life blood. They represent power as well. The designs represent things that are about wealth to them and things that bring them pleasure," she notes.

"There has been a growing interest in Gabbehs as people become aware of these contemporary pieces and see them in person. I'll see a wave of sales of only traditional pieces, then a wave of contemporary. Then there's the household coming in to mix it up with both styles together."

Ms. Rockwell is also intrigued by Turkish fish carpets, which are made with wool left over from other rugs.

"They collect all the different wools and can be so creative after being so restricted. I know what they are thinking when they are weaving these. They are having fun and thinking color."

The fish carpets have sold well.

"People seem to love them because they are getting a real Oriental but with an unconventional pattern," she says.

O'Bannon Oriental Carpets, 3803 Butler St., Lawrenceville, can be reached at 412-621-0700 or http://www.obannonrugs.com.

Correction/Clarification: (Published June 18, 2009) This story as originally published June 13, 2009 about Kristen Rockwell and O'Bannon Oriental Carpets gave an incorrect name for a supplier, Woven Legends.

Jewish American Rug Dealer in Iran

2009-06-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

In Iran, Entrepreneur Witnesses the Elections

June 18, 2009

Lisa Hostein
Jewish Exponent Staff Writer

Jerry Sorkin has never shied away from the hot spots of the world. Which is why it was not surprising to find the former local rug dealer in Iran this week, with a front-row seat for the Islamic nation's elections and its tumultuous aftermath.

For years, Sorkin sought his wares in the remotest corners of the world, traveling throughout the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

Several years ago, he closed down his Wayne-based Oriental-rug dealership to focus on his new passion -- promoting tourism to Muslim lands little traveled by Americans. He opened a travel company, focusing mainly on Tunisia and Turkey. Some of the trips he orga- nizes also included visiting Jewish sites of interest.

JERRY SORKIN

Now, he is seeking to help open Iran to American tourism. It won't be easy, he conceded, noting that he had difficulty attaining a visa for his exploratory trip.

But "when you get away from the rhetoric" emanating from Iran's political leaders, ordinary people are "very pro-American," Sorkin said in a phone interview Monday from his hotel room in Tehran.

Nor did he encounter any problems when his Jewishness came out, he said.

In the days leading up to the June 12 election, Sorkin said he was surprised to find such excitement among many Iranians.

"People were sensing a change, pushing the envelope," he said, noting that most people he spoke to had supported Mir Hussein Moussavi, the main candidate who had opposed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Sorkin said he has found a consensus that "you can't put the genie back in the bottle."

After experiencing what he called an "amazingly open" election campaign, filled with rallies and debates, Sorkin detected what many analysts are predicting as well: The Iranian people "aren't going to be quiet after the tremendous sense of freedom they felt prior to the elections."

'The World Is Watching'
With unrest mounting over official claims of Ahmadinejad's re-election, some American Jewish organizational leaders are calling for more U.S. support for the protesters and more international action to stop the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, reported the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

As the first signs of a violent crackdown on street demonstrators came Monday -- at least seven people were killed -- JTA reported that some Jewish communal officials said that the United States should be doing more to show solidarity with the demonstrators.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said that he understood why the United States "doesn't want to become a factor" in the process, but added, "When do the young people feel they've been abandoned" by the West?

Talking to reporters Monday, Obama said that "it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be," and the United States wants to avoid "being the issue inside of Iran."

Addressing "those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process," Obama added, "I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was."

On the ground in the country, Sorkin noted that Iranians in general are sensing a positive a change with the new American leader.

Whatever ultimately happens with the election, he predicted, "there will be a new openness to the West."

M. Abraham Importer Oriental Rugs Expands

2009-06-22T12:36:00.000-04:00

June 20
Store to expand into Lowe’s bar and restaurant

Former W-B eatery site sold for $235,000

By Jerry Lynott jlynott@timesleader.com
Business Writer

WILKES-BARRE – The closing of Lowe’s bar and restaurant opened the door for Ali Kazimi to expand his downtown floor covering business.

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click image to enlarge

The front of M. Abraham Importer and Lowe’s bar and restaurant on West Market Street in Wilkes-Barre as seen in January of 2008. The owner of M. Abraham Importer, Ali Kazimi, bought the property that housed the now-closed Lowe’s and will expand his floor covering business. Kazimi will now have approximately 2,200 extra square feet to display his Oriental rugs in a street-level showroom. The store’s other floor covering choices of carpeting, tile, hardwoods and laminates will be in the basement of the former Lowe’s building. The second and third floors will be converted into apartments.

Times Leader file photo/fred adams

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Kazimi, owner of M. Abraham Importer on West Market, bought the adjacent property for $235,000 and has begun renovations.

“I’m hoping within the next 30 days everything will be done,” Kazimi said Friday.

Tom Williams, owner of Lowe’s, confirmed the sale. “I think he’s going to do great things,” Williams said of Kazimi.

The acquisition will add approximately 2,200 square feet for Kazimi to display his Oriental rugs in a street-level showroom. Customers will access the added space through an interior opening between the two buildings.

The basement of the former Lowe’s building will contain the store’s other floor covering selections of hardwoods, tile, carpeting and laminates. The second and third floors will be converted into apartments.

The purchase is proof he is committed to the city, he said. He acknowledged that he had some trouble over the sale of a parking lot next to the former Hotel Sterling, but he has moved on from that issue. The city was going to exercise eminent domain over the lot, but in 2007, after three years of negotiations, Sterling developer CityVest agreed to pay $650,000 for the lot, lower than Kazimi’s original asking price of $700,000.

“I still believe in Wilkes-Barre and the success of Wilkes-Barre. That’s why I did the investment,” Kazimi said.

He has been in the business since 1974, but it has been in his family much longer. Kazimi’s great uncle Mohamed Abraham started it in 1927 and operated it until his passing in 1975. Abraham’s nephew, David Abraham, took over and Kazimi purchased the business in 1989.

“I am third generation,” Kazimi, 55, said. A fourth generation, Kazimi’s 28-year-old son Hussein, just joined the business.

“Wyoming Valley has been very nice to the Kazimi family. That is why we’re sticking around,” Kazimi said.

Jerry Lynott, a Times Leader staff writer, can be contacted at 570 829-7237.

Encyclopedia on Persian Carpet under Compilation

2009-06-09T11:44:00.001-04:00

Encyclopedia on Persian Carpet under Compilation

TEHRAN (FNA)- An encyclopedia on Persian carpet will be published by the Persian Encyclopedia Foundation by March 2009.

According to a report by Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, some 630 entries of the encyclopedia have been compiled, evaluation of which will begin from summer.

The contract to that effect was concluded in 2007 and its duration is 22 months and is extendable.

Following a call by the encyclopedia council, 20 researchers in the field announced their readiness to participate in the project, the Islamic republic news agency reported.

Compiling the encyclopedia aims to present a better understanding of Persian carpet as well as a comprehensive view about the industry.

The encyclopedia which deals with different aspects of Persian carpet will serve as a reliable reference source for researchers in the field.

owner of Zaki Oriental Rugs Receives National Award

2009-06-05T07:49:00.000-04:00

Zaki Receives National Award

Triad -

Zaki Khalifa will be awarded one of our nation’s highest honors as a top Asian business leader in America at a special awards gala. A well known and respected leader in High Point, North Carolina, and owner of Zaki Oriental Rugs, Zaki will receive the award in New York City from the Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC).

“Zaki Khalifa is truly one of our country’s outstanding Asian business leaders and he is most deserving of this recognition”, stated John Wang, President of AABDC. “Our organization has presented this award since 2001, but with the economic crisis around the world, our recipients this year represent leadership at its highest level.”

The award is the “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” and Zaki is one of only four Pakistanis to receive this honor. He is also the only person from North Carolina ever to be honored by this prestigious award.

“The impact of his leadership reaches not only throughout America but the far concerns of the world.”, noted Tom Dayvault, President and CEO of the High Point Chamber of Commerce. “Our chamber and our community are very aware of Zaki’s benevolence and leadership…now the entire country is aware of his vision and humble spirit.”

Hailed as the Asian American business community’s most distinguished award program, the outstanding 50 is the largest, all-encompassing Asian American business award program in the nation. The award program honors individuals with outstanding leadership, vision and accomplishments who have distinguished themselves within their community. The presentation will take place at the Hilton New York on June 10 with over 600 people from government, business and civic leaders in attendance.

In characteristic style, Zaki noted, “There are many others more deserving of this award. I am humbled and honored.”

“Zaki provides an example for all of us to emulate,” stated Mayor Rebecca Smothers, Mayor of the City of High Point. “Our community, our state and our nation are blessed to have him as a leader.”

Posted on:
Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:05 PM

Laurel Kozeradsky, Ethan Orley Wed

2009-06-05T07:43:00.001-04:00

Laurel Kozeradsky, Ethan Orley

Published: May 30, 2009

Laurel Kozeradsky and Ethan Shane Orley were married Saturday evening at Steiner Studios, a party space in Brooklyn. Rabbi Suri Krieger officiated.

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Mrs. Orley, 29, works in Manhattan as an associate director of strategic planning at Mindshare, a media buying unit of WPP Group, the British advertising company. She graduated from the University of Delaware.

She is the daughter of Nancy Miller Kozeradsky and Michael Kozeradsky of Cresskill, N.J. Her father is a consultant in Lodi, N.J., who specializes in the sale and maintenance of seafood display equipment for grocery and fish stores. Her mother is a lawyer in Tenafly, N.J.

Until September, Mr. Orley, 28, was a vice president of DBP Capital, a distressed debt investment firm in Manhattan; he researched potential deals. He graduated from the University of Michigan and received a master’s in real estate finance from New York University.

He is a son of Klara Orley of Karkur, Israel, and Geoffrey A. Orley of Manhattan. His father is an owner and founder of Orley & Shabahang, a retailer of antique and contemporary Persian carpets and also a manufacturer, with stores in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Fla., and Whitefish Bay, Wis.

We’re loving...rug trade

2009-06-03T09:02:00.000-04:00

We’re loving...rug trade

Taking a leaf from the Government’s book the upmarket department store Liberty will now part-exchange any old rug when you purchase one of theirs. Customers who buy one of Liberty’s carpets or rugs, which include fine examples from Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Morocco, China and Nepal, will receive a discount £100 off any rug costing more than £500. There are between four and five thousand rugs to choose from, and they cost from £75 to more than £150,000. See www.liberty.co.uk for details.

The Orientalist,Leading Opens in Dubai

2009-06-02T14:12:00.000-04:00

The Orientalist,Leading Name in Knotted Carpets Opens in Dubai
Posted on: Tuesday June 2 , 2009 5:01:08 PM (GMT+4) Submit Press Release

The Orientalist Woven Art LLC, which has carved a niche for itself with a world-class collection of hand knotted carpets from around the globe, is set to take centre stage in the UAE with the opening of its spacious new gallery in Dubai.

The new gallery is located at Al Wasl Road and will complement an existing outlet located on Jumeirah Beach Road. The opening of the new gallery is a strategic growth step for the company, which has made a mark for itself internationally, including South East Asia, where it operates one of the world’s largest carpet galleries in Singapore.

Abi Bagheri, Managing Director of The Orientalist Woven Art, said: “For over 50 years we have been building tightly-knit tight relationships with master weavers and renowned workshops not just in Persia but throughout every major carpet region in the world. As a result we are able to extend unquestionable authenticity, value for money and unrivalled choice of products and services. The Orientalist Woven Art will continue building on our reputation, not only as purveyors of fine hand knotted carpets, but as ambassadors of the carpet world.”

The new gallery in Dubai will offer The Orientalist’s entire collection of carpets, which includes Antiques & Collectables, City Master Weave, Contemporary, Customized, Kilim, Oversize, Renaissance, Rounds, Runners, Silk and Tribal. These carpets originate from all over the world such as, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Afghanistan etc. “The Orientalist has been supplying the finest hand knotted carpets and rugs for some of the most prestigious addresses across Middle East and Asia, including celebrity homes, leading institutions and premier heads of state. Through our new outlet in Dubai, we aim to further enhance our product and service offering in the region,” said Bagheri.

The Orientalist also offers unique personalised designs, giving clients, interior designers and developers the opportunity to create their own unique pieces for distinguished homes, offices and institutions. With over 1,800 colours to choose from, the Orientalist works closely with their clients to ensure that these custom-made carpets perfectly reflect the desired style and ambience of the living and working environment.

The company also provides a vast array of unrivalled services, including Professional Carpet Cleaning – providing specialist washing and cleaning for every type of handmade carpet; Repairs – whether it’s wear or tear, from age or accident; Restoration – commissioning a master weaver for expert restoration; Customized carpets – designing your own masterpiece carpets; and Consultation – advising on all practicalities and aesthetics of choosing a carpet.

Among the other services offered by The Orientalist Dubai are: Classes – conducting fun master classes to help unravel the mysteries of hand-woven carpets and rugs; Searching – finding the perfect rug or carpet to match the customers’ needs; and Guarantee–certifying that every carpet is of unquestionable authenticity

Robbery Foiled at Oscar Isberian Rugs

2009-05-26T23:27:00.000-04:00

Posted: Tuesday, 26 May 2009 9:13PM

Carpets stolen worth $250,000

Four men caught with $250K in stolen carpets
May 26, 2009

(HIGHLAND PARK) Four men were arrested last week in connection with the theft of rugs worth $250,000 from a north suburban business.

Neb Lazovic, 47, Louis Sokolovis, 58, and Srecko Zdravkovic, 45, all of 8213 N. Oconto in Chicago; and Aldijan Salkic, 23, of 2717 Atlantic in Franklin Park were arrested May 18 and charged with burglary, theft and possession of burglary tools, all felonies.

A detective in an unmarked Highland Park police vehicle was conducting surveillance of businesses in the Skokie Valley Road corridor when he noticed a red Ford van and a black Mercedes enter the parking lot of Oscar Isberian Rugs at 3300 Skokie Valley Rd. just before 10 p.m.

Working together with Northbrook, Wilmette and Winnetka police, officers witnessed the men force their way into the west entrance of the store and load rugs into the van. The men were stopped and officers found seven rugs in the van worth a total of about $250,000.

Highland Park Police Cmdr. Gerald Cameron said that the rugs were handmade Persians, some made of silk. The fact that only the seven were taken leads police to suspect the men had been in the store prior to the burglary attempt.

“It’s our belief that they went into the rug store prior to that and targeted several rugs they knew were of great value,” Cameron said.

Bond for each of the four was set at $500,000 and they were required to surrender their passports. Police said the investigation is continuing and court dates are pending.

Persian Carpets Gardens of Delight

2009-05-15T08:35:00.001-04:00

Persian Carpets Gardens of Delight

Persian Carpets Gardens of Delight [Photo]

Persian Carpet Tehran, May 15, 2009: Ancient Persia was known for its hand-woven carpets and rugs. The use of carpets in religious rituals and other ceremonies dates back to the time of pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. The priests of Heiliopolis used them in religious ceremonies. Pazyrik is the oldest evidence of Persian rug that dates back to 500 BC. It is named after Pazyryk Valley in the frosted mountains of Altai in Siberia. According to the ECO Heritage publication, the carpet was excavated from under the ice that protected it for almost 25 centuries. Post-Islamic Rugs, Carpets Since rugs and carpets are made of fine material that perish in the course of time, extant material evidence is rare and scarcely exceeds 300 years. Therefore, to find the evidence of post-Islamic rugs and carpets in Iran, one should rely on written sources. These sources reveal that during 8th century AD, Azarbaijan was a major center for production of carpets and coarse carpets (Ziloo) in post-Islamic Persia. There is a considerable body of textual evidence attesting to at least 12 centuries of rug production in the region, both flat woven and piled. The earliest material evidence of Persian carpet in the post-Islamic period dates back to the Safavid era (1502-1629), known as the famous Ardebil Carpet. Today this priceless carpet is preserved in Victoria and Albert Museum in London (formerly known as South Kensington Museum which was a foundation for collecting Persian arts and crafts). Under the Safavids, the art of carpet-making reached its peak and the degree of refinement and ornamentation in the carpet of Safavid era rightfully earned it the title of “the golden age of rugs and carpets“. The products of court workshop in Safavid period have an exceptional quality in terms of style, materials, patterns and ornamentation. The products of court workshops of Ardebil, Tabriz and Isfahan are dominated by leaf and flower motifs. In the 16th century, human and animal forms began to appear in these carpets. Certain motifs such as the cloud-band unmistakably indicate the Mongolian influence. Nevertheless, the earliest designs used by nomads have survived even to the present day. Abbasid Treasures The earliest reference to Persian carpets is made in the official inventory of Abbasid Caliph Haroun’s treasury recorded in 809 AD following his death. The production of prayer rugs and small carpets also dates back to this period, as historical records mention that along with taxes, 600 carpets were sent to the Baghdad caliphs, including small prayer carpets. These were produced in the province of Tabarestan (Mazandaran), another region in north Persia. It is believed that during this time, the main export item from the region was carpets. The carpets of Khorasan, Sistan and Bukhara were in high demand due to their attractive designs and diversity of motifs. During the reigns of Seljuk and Ilkhanid dynasties, many workshops in different cities were involved in the production and sale of carpets. Fars Carpet Historical texts refer to a magnificent mosque built by Ghazan Khan, the great Ilkhan (died 1304) in Tabriz, which was covered by fine precious carpets of excellent quality. Perhaps the most striking and instructive reference is the historic royal decree of Ghazan Khan, which reveals that carpets, befitting metropolitan royal palaces, were being produced in sizable numbers in Fars as early as the 13th century. Fars remained one of the great centers of carpet production, perhaps the most important, for Ghazan Khan had most of the carpets for a whole group of buildings at Shams Garden in Tabriz (his capital) made at Fars. Timurid artisans combined the art of Persian miniatures with carpet-weaving and reproduced various scenes of Persian miniatures (which had been originally derived from Persian literary texts). Weavers and Weaving Different tribes in Fars province produce rugs and carpets. In fact, the ethnographic map of Fars is so colorful that it is hardly comparable to any other Iranian province or any other carpet-making region in the world. Lors, Turks, Arabs, Kurd-Lor and other ethnicities scattered in the area, which have not been adequately identified. Of the seven major tribes that have maintained their unity up to the present day (Ainalu, Arab nomad, Baharlu, Basseri, Lor, Nafar and Qashqai), only Lors and Arabs (and perhaps some Basseri elements) inhabited the region in the 10th century. Turkic immigrants, comprising Qashqai, Baharlu, Ainalu and some Nafar tribes do not appear in this ethnographic map earlier than the late 13th century. The first Turkic tribal group may have descended from a 300-strong Mughal cavalry dispatched to Fars in 1281. Commercial Aspects During the Safavid era, export quality carpets and rugs were produced. In 1722, the French consul in Shiraz provided 18 carpets to an agent of a company. Because of uninterrupted production, it can be surmised that all or a large part of these rugs were produced locally. During 18th and 19th century, under the Zand and Qajar dynasties, the pace of carpet and rug exports increased. Nassereddin Shah also sent Persian rugs to the Vienna Exhibition in 1891, where they were appreciated by a public fascinated by things Oriental. Carpets, furniture and decorative objects, as well as paintings by European Orientalist painters, were all reminders of the East, and evocative of exotic of distant lands. Toward the end of the 19th century, however, investment and capitalization by local and foreign firms in the country spurred the development of a new Persian carpet industry, the fame of which was to become legendary. Income from the sale of commercial-style carpets soon supplanted the revenues earlier derived from the export of raw silk, fine textiles and luxury carpetsÑand even today; carpets remain modern Iran’s most important non-oil export. Symbolism The richness in international designs rests mostly on the enormous wealth of symbols, myths, icons, occultist ideographs and objects of totemism. Talking about the symbolism of Persian rugs, one cannot ignore the evolution of their patterns and designs, which probably originated in Mesopotamia. Passed on through generations, the designs and motifs of Persian rugs and carpets have basically remained intact. While the continuity of designs and motifs has been preserved, the evolution in form and ornamentation can be identified in the numerous themes and motifs of rugs and carpets. At times, these symbols predate the history of carpet-making itself, as a number of these motifs are related to the patterns and motifs found on the potteries dating back to 4th-3rd millennium BC. They provide us with a vast treasure of prehistoric archetypes used by ancient tribes. These motifs relate to the mythological belief and symbolic iconography of those early times. Later, these forms drew heavily from Achaemenid and Sassanid visual traditions and subsequently from the early Islamic ornamentation. Liberty of Weaver Like words in a language, there are ’motif-words’ that remain unchanged or little changed for generations, while others become obsolete or lose their meaning, original worth and function. Like a language, the traditional weaver cannot change the meaning, spelling and phonetics of the words, but has the liberty of employing them at will, making new phrases. The individual liberty of the weaver has no lesser or greater scope than the liberty enjoyed by a writer or a poet. The incredible wealth of motifs, designs and ornamentation in Persian rugs and carpets has led scholars to believe that these are being invented by individual weavers. Behind the creation of a Persian rug or carpet are weavers (particularly in case of Fars rugs and carpets, most of the weavers are women from tribal or semi-tribal communities) loyal to the traditions passed down to them from their ancestors. Therefore, they cannot easily be separated from these traditions and their common artistic consciousness, yet they are free to create their own versions of the old traditional designs. In other words, this conformity and unity, while forbidding inventions of unfamiliar and non-traditional designs, does not lead to the production of stereotyped rugs and carpets, rather it gives rise to highly personalized creations marked by a uniqueness that makes it difficult to pair rugs and carpets that are identical in design and color. The tribal weaver carries her pattern in her mind. Generally speaking, she has worked on predetermined patterns and designs all her life, and has learned that any deviation from it, changes in coloring, irregularities deliberately introduced and other slight alternations are the unconscious attunement of her mental attitude to her daily environment. Then, of course, the use of birds, animals, flowers, plants and celestial objects in carpet designs have their own symbolism and are governed by regional preferences. These are beyond the scope of this article. Thus you’ll find the Persian weaver whose family bereavement, say, would find unconscious expression in the free use of white in her pattern, a marriage might give cause for a preponderant employment of brilliant red, a misfortune might be shown by a descending eagle, while hunting scenes in her work with hounds and leopards and cheetahs would indicate the fame, valor and honor of someone deserving allegiance or affection.

Carpets Linked with Islamic Art

2009-05-15T08:27:00.001-04:00

Carpets Linked with Islamic Art

Carpets Linked with Islamic Art [Photo]
Carpets Linked with Islamic Art Tehran, May 15, 2009: An exhibition on the impact of Islamic art on Persian carpets will be held on May 19 at Tehran+s Carpet Museum concurrent with the World Museum Day. Announcing this, director of Carpet Museum, Parviz Eskandarpour, told CHTN that carpets from across the country, which depict architecture and monuments, will be presented at the exhibition. “Carpets from Kashan, Tabriz, Kerman and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari provinces, which feature architecture from ancient times up to the present, will be displayed at the event, “he said. Eskandarpour noted that Persian carpets and Islamic architecture are linked. “We can clearly see vaulted buildings as well as minarets and tileworks in Persian carpets, “he said. He referred to Mehrab (the prayer niche) as an inseparable part of Iranian religious buildings, particularly mosques, and added that carpet weavers have always been inspired by religious architecture. “Iranian carpet weavers have always taken religious architecture into consideration, “he said. Eskandarpour concluded that veteran carpet weavers and exemplary museum employees will be honored on May 20 in Tehran+s Carpet Museum.

Silicon Carpet Invisibility Cloak

2009-05-08T12:18:00.000-04:00

Tiny Invisibility Cloak Constructed

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Felt at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum

2009-05-01T07:21:00.002-04:00

Art Review | 'Fashioning Felt'

Humble Fabric Takes Center Stage

By ROBERTA SMITH

Published: April 30, 2009

Felt is the feel-good fabric of all time. Sturdy, cosseting, beautiful, shape-shifting, dye-friendly, it serves many purposes and offers countless pleasures. Some but certainly not all of its latest uses are outlined in “Fashioning Felt,” an illuminating exhibition of around 70 items — mostly furnishings and garments — at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Felt’s purely artistic possibilities are also being explored in scattered shows at New York galleries.

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Felt art now on display in Manhattan includes the multiheaded “Bold as Love,” by Adam Parker Smith, at Broadway Windows at Broadway and East 10th Street. More Photos »

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Felt on Display

Though you may never have thought much about felt, there’s a lot more to it than you’d expect. One of the first manmade textiles, it requires almost no special tools, certainly not a loom. It began to be made 8,000 years ago, a millennium before the earliest forms of weaving. Its fairly unadulterated natural ingredients were and remain animal wool, soap and water mashed into a kind of pulp (initially by bare feet), then dried under pressure and made into everything from caps to rugs and capes to yurts.

On the scale of material culture, felt’s elemental longevity places it somewhere between wine-making (the stomping) and ceramics (the malleable natural material rendered useful by drying or baking). Like the smooth surfaces and glazes of ceramics, felt’s wet-dry process and variety of colors encouraged the human yen for decoration. Among the Cooper-Hewitt show’s half dozen 19th- and early 20th-century precursors to contemporary felt is a Mongolian tea ceremony rug whose salmon-pink field is dotted with pinwheels of circles in red, green and white pinwheel (tie-dyed), and an Iranian carpet whose familiar Persian patterns, freed from the loom, have a wonderful drizzled, drifting effect. In contrast, an Uzbek carpet from the same time magnifies such motifs into big, flat silhouettes.

We probably all have felt-related memories, and maybe even some felt phobia. Mine include poodle skirts, varsity letters, blackboard erasers, pool tables and the undersides of lamps and heavy ashtrays that I was told to handle carefully. That felt’s edges were all, in essence, selvage — no hems required! — attracted people like me who don’t sew. Though I think that the closest I came to actually wearing felt was a yurtlike bathrobe with large red, cut-out and flocked tomatoes on its enormous pockets — a Christmas gift from my mother at the onset of my adolescence.

During my first years as a New York pedestrian, I gained a new appreciation of felt’s wondrous warmth and density through a simple pair of innersoles that winterized and then outlasted some reliable rain boots. Several of my favorite garments have been made of boiled wool, felt’s second cousin, including sweaters that I downsized (not always on purpose) in the washer or dryer. Then there’s my sizable collection of yard-sale afghans. Its pride is a blue-checked survivor of a previous owner’s washer-dryer experimentation. At first I thought it was a rug. I snapped it up for $10 and hope to be buried with it. And did I mention the felt-covered couch in my living room? It is seasonal, used only during the cooler months.

The Cooper-Hewitt show dwells largely in the gap between art and functional objects. Aside from room dividers by Scofidio & Diller and Janice Arnold, a neat hanging cradle by Soren Ulrick Petersen and a beautiful large rug in bands of Rothko red by Stephanie Odegard, there is remarkably little here that I can imagine living with or looking at for extended periods of time. It would have been nice to have had some slightly more down-to-earth applications that weren’t at least 100 years old, rather than the parade of exotic garments, weirdly shaped furniture and wall hangings.

There are extremes in size, from a felt necklace by Birgit Daamen embedded with coral beads to a giant red-brown installation by Claudy Jongstra that demonstrates degrees of feltness, raw to cooked, through different textures and wools, straight to curly. It reaches a height of about eight feet, resembles the maw of a whale and invites but doesn’t accommodate physical contact. Add seats and it could be a pair of booths in a fancy restaurant — say, the Siberian Tearoom. Just a thought.

There are also extremes in frivolity and function, some from the same source, as with Kathryn Walter, a designer whose family has been in the textile business for four generations. Ms. Walter’s gray felt molding bulkily mimics the fluted and floral relief designs of traditional ceiling molding, which seems hard enough to keep dusted as it is. But her “Striations” wall, made of leftover felt scraps built up in horizontal chips like shale, is a sound-proofing solution, and it recycles.

Among the show’s most interesting themes is hybridization: the increasing practice of combining felt with other materials, whether fabric, plastic or even light-emitting diode lights (a rug designed by Yvonne Laurysen and Erik Mantel). Jorie Johnson and Clifton Montieth collaborate; she makes felt vessels; he lines them with lacquer. Their works have a striking contrast of matte and shiny and hard and soft, although their practical applications are hard to gauge. Janice Arnold has draped the museum’s conservatory with “Palace Yurt,” an imposing installation of white-on-white wall hangings, each combining felt with silk, linen, mohair or Tercel in different patterns and motifs. The same principle is found on a smaller scale in the fashion designs of Christine Birkle and Françoise Hoffmann. And the felt-covered stones of Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen are an unusually compact combination. They come in gray, green and white and seem the perfect thing to lie down on if one’s back is tight. They must be better than tennis balls. These are not to be confused with Pernelle Fagerlund’s “Textile Stones” cushions, which are made entirely of felt.

Felt has a history in postwar art, starting with Josephs Beuys’s use of it in his performances, abstract sculptures and his dour felt suit pieces. And few things say Process Art like Robert Morris’s elephantine, industrial-strength felt wall pieces and Barry LeVa’s scattered floor pieces of felt scraps, with or without shattered glass.

The less dour aesthetic possibilities of felt hit me several years ago via an unforgettable cluster of little felt reliefs hanging in a hallway of an art building at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va. Nothing special, just an assignment from a textiles class, but the variety of color, textures and forms seemed like a remarkably fresh way to merge painting and sculpture. Wow. Major in that.

At the moment, the New York galleries showcasing felt include David Zwirner, at 525 West 19th Street, where Adel Abdessemed has used expanses of beautiful white felt to stretch three small airplanes into extended snakelike bodies. I also recommend two new sculptures by Ronnie Fisher on view in “Old Dogs, New Tricks,” at K.S. Art at 72 Walker Street in TriBeCa, along with impressive sculptures by John Newman and paintings by Hermine Ford. Mr. Fisher, who is best known for making aggressively utilitarian fountains and lamps from found, mostly metal objects, seems to have been shaken to his roots by some kind of SpongeBob SquarePants epiphany. His new sculptures are soft stuffed forms sewn from felt and other hardy fabrics like vinyl imitation leather; they achieve an unlikely stasis between the sexual and the toylike, not to mention abstraction and representation.

Then there is “Bold as Love,” a show of the work of the young artist Adam Parker Smith that can be seen around the clock at Broadway Windows, a display-only curatorial space in the windows of a New York University building at Broadway and East 10th Street in Greenwich Village. Inspired by Goya (and the Chapman brothers), Mr. Smith is showing three dozen life-size severed heads, mounted on spikes, and more comedic than gory because they are made entirely of felt. The heads echo too closely the work of Tom Friedman and Ryan Johnson, but they are vivacious and various and make good use of felt’s colors, mutability and hem-free edges. In a way, their main subject is the wonder of the material itself.

“Fashioning Felt” continues through Sept. 7 at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street; (212) 849-8400, cooperhewitt.org.

TEXTILE MUSEUM CURATORS PROMOTED

2009-04-29T08:52:00.000-04:00

TEXTILE MUSEUM CURATORS PROMOTED

April 27, 2009, Washington, D.C. — The Textile Museum announced today that Sumru Belger Krody has been promoted to curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections and Lee Talbot has been promoted to associate curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections. Krody will continue to head the department and to pursue curatorial work in her area of expertise, including researching and cataloguing the museum’s collection of Islamic and Late Antique textiles, developing exhibitions, producing scholarly materials and interpreting the Museum’s collection through educational programs, and chairing the Museum’s staff Research, Publication, Library and Education task force. Talbot will continue to chair the Museum’s internal Exhibitions Task Force, acting as a liaison to the Board of Trustees, and to pursue curatorial work focused on the Museum’s collection of textiles from Korea, China and Japan through exhibitions, publications and programs. Krody previously held the position of associate curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections, and Talbot previously held the position of assistant curator, Eastern Hemisphere Collections.

“We are pleased to recognize the outstanding work of these two curators, who foster The Textile Museum’s role as a leader in the scholarship and presentation of textiles from around the world,” said Maryclaire Ramsey, the museum’s CEO. “These individuals have built on The TM’s international reputation and paved the way for an exciting series of upcoming exhibitions, on topics ranging from Central Asian ikats to Chinese interiors.”

About Sumru Belger Krody

Krody has been with The Textile Museum for 15 years. She began as curatorial assistant, Eastern Hemisphere Collections, and has served as head of the department since 2001. Her previous exhibitions include Flowers of Silk & Gold: Four Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery (2004-5); Floral Perspectives in Carpet Design (2006); Harpies, Mermaids and Tulips: Embroidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Region (2006); and Ahead of His Time: The Collecting Vision of George Hewitt Myers (2007-8). Flowers of Silk & Gold and Harpies, Mermaids and Tulips were both accompanied by fully illustrated catalogues resulting from Krody’s field research in Turkey, Greece and England. In addition to these original exhibitions, she has co-curated or coordinated numerous other shows during her tenure. Most recently Krody adapted the Textile Museum exhibition Timbuktu to Tibet: Rugs and Textiles of the Hajji Babas, on view October 18, 2008 through March 8, 2009, from the exhibition Woven Splendor from Timbuktu to Tibet: Exotic Rugs and Textiles from New York Collectors, shown at the New York Historical Society.

Beyond her exhibition experience, Krody has served as managing editor of The Textile Museum Journal since 1997 and contributed scholarly articles to HALI, Piecework, Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot and other publications. She has given many presentations at The Textile Museum and at symposia and conferences across the United States and in Europe. Her professional affiliations include serving on the boards of the Textile Society of America and on the council of the Association of Art Museum Curators. Krody holds a B.A. from Istanbul University and a M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. A native Turkish speaker, she is fluent in English and is proficient in German, Latin and ancient Greek.

About Lee Talbot

Lee Talbot joined The Textile Museum staff in April 2007 and the following year was co-curator of the acclaimed exhibition BLUE, which explored the historical and current use of indigo dye in textiles around the world. Prior to arriving at The Textile Museum, Talbot served three years as curator and lecturer at the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum at Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea. From 2001 to 2003 he was a lecturer and teaching assistant at the Bard Graduate Center, after two years as the center’s public programs coordinator. His experience also includes work at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and Sotheby’s in New York, and at the Korea Foundation and Royal Asiatic Society in Seoul, Korea.

Talbot has published extensively, with articles in Arirang, HALI, and Studies in the Decorative Arts, as well as contributions to two exhibition catalogues at the Chung Young Yang Museum. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture. During his studies, he has been recognized with the Bard Graduate Center Ph.D. Fellowship, the Bonne Cashin Fund Fellowship and the Pittsburgh Foundation Walter Read Hovey Memorial Fund Fellowship. Talbot’s dissertation topic is “Women, Textiles and Upper-class Domestic Environments in Late Joseon Dynasty Korea.”

Lee Talbot holds degrees from the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture (M.A.), the Thunderbird School of Global Management (M.B.A.), and Rhodes College (B.A.). He completed four semesters of Korean language study at Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea as well as three academic years of Mandarin Chinese at the Taipei Language Institute. He is proficient in Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Spanish.

###

About The Textile Museum

Established in 1925 by George Hewitt Myers, The Textile Museum is an international center for the exhibition, study, collection and preservation of the textile arts. The Museum explores the role that textiles play in the daily and ceremonial life of individuals the world over. Special attention is given to textiles of the Near East, Asia, Africa and the indigenous cultures of the Americas. The Museum also presents exhibitions of historical and contemporary quilts, and fiber art. With a collection of more than 18,000 textiles and rugs, The Textile Museum is a unique and valuable resource for people locally, nationally and internationally.

The Textile Museum is located at 2320 ‘S’ Street, NW in Washington, D.C. The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday 1 pm to 5 pm. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $5 for non-members. For more information, call (202) 667-0441 or visit www.textilemuseum.org.

Ervin-Cevik Imports, Mooresville, Va

2009-04-25T08:37:00.001-04:00

Unique friendship blooms within Mooresville store

By Melinda Skutnick | Mooresville Tribune

Published: April 24, 2009

To business partners Rick Ervin and Vedat Cevik, their Mooresville rug store is more than a retail outlet; it's the reflection of a friendship that brought the two men together.

Although the doors to Ervin-Cevik Imports – specializing in both handmade and reproduced Turkish rugs and carpets –opened in November 2008, the story that brought both men to downtown Mooresville began years earlier in western Iraq.

Vedat Cevik, a native of Adana, Turkey, was running a rug store on a United States military base at Al Asad in Iraq when Rick Ervin, a Troutman native, wandered in.

Cevik was 17 and a fourth generation rug maker and salesman, carrying on the trade from his father. Ervin was a 54-year-old American contractor, working in Iraq with a strong interest in Oriental rugs.

The two met by chance.

In Turkey, said both Cevik and Ervin, a rug store is more than a retailer; it's a comfortable environment where people relax for hours at a time, sharing stories over cigars and cups of tea.

"I started hanging out at the rug store," said Ervin. "Even bought a rug or two."

Cevik jokingly responded, "I gave him a good deal."

Gradually, the two men formed a friendship over mutual interests.

Since his first Oriental rug purchase in 1983, Ervin said he'd always had a unique love for the handmade rugs and carpets created far from his American home. And Cevik – a man who grew up next to an American air force base in Turkey – said he dreamt of living in the United States, always yearning to relocate his life to a place he'd only seen in the movies.

In 2006, with a strong friendship as the backbone of their business-partner relationship, Ervin began helping Cevik obtain a work visa to come to the U.S. Two years later, in November 2008, the Turkish man finally made his journey to Mooresville and Ervin-Cevik Imports opened for business.

Individually, said Ervin, the men bring different qualities to their new business.

"He's got the expertise and the drive," said Ervin. "I just love rugs. I've learned a lot from him."

But Cevik, now 21, said he's experiencing his dream of living in the United States, even if he's yet to venture beyond the Mooresville region.

"I like Mooresville," Cevik said. "I'm going to stay here. I'm not going back to Turkey."

Ervin said his family – which includes his wife Margo, a daughter and granddaughter – practically "adopted" Cevik the moment he arrived, welcoming him into their home.

Currently Cevik is regularly taking English language courses at Mitchell Community College to obtain his GED. After that, he wants to pursue a degree at MCC.

"I hope to stay here for a long time," he said.

As for their store, business has been slow thus far, but as word continues to spread throughout the community, Ervin said he hopes the rug retailer flourishes.

"We knew going into this it was going to take a year," he said, noting that the men find it more important to create a welcoming, relaxing environment within their store, similar to the rug outlets in Turkey.

Added Ervin, "We try to make it a warm, inviting place."

Regularly welcoming passersby into their store for a cup of apple tea, Cevik said they don't really "sell" rugs and carpets. "The carpet chooses you," he said. "I just show you."

Cevik and Ervin offer a variety of handmade and machine-made replicas of Turkish and other Oriental rugs, carpets, scarves, tablecloths and pillowcases. Their rugs cost from $200 to $9,000.

Also, on the second Friday of each month, the store offers a "rug-buying class" at 6 p.m. where guests can learn about "what to look for when you're buying a rug."

Ervin-Cevik Imports, 240 N. Main St., is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and by appointment each Sunday.

For more information, contact them at 704-660-1100 or Ervin-CevikImports@hotmail.com

Textile Museum Elects Paul N. Schwartz to Board of Trustees

2009-04-23T15:21:00.000-04:00

The Textile Museum Elects Paul N. Schwartz to Board of Trustees

April 23, 2009, Washington, D.C. — The Textile Museum announced today that Paul N. Schwartz was elected to the Museum’s Board of Trustees at their April 3, 2009 meeting. On accepting his appointment to the Board, Schwartz said “I am pleased to join The Textile Museum’s unique and far-reaching community as a member of the Board of Trustees. I believe the Museum fulfills a singular role in the field and is well positioned in today’s economy with a balanced budget and a committed core constituency.” He serves on the board’s Budget and Finance, Development and Audit Committees.

Schwartz brings extensive business management experience to The Textile Museum’s Board of Trustees. In April 2006 he retired from the position of president and chief financial officer for MAXXAM Inc., a holding company for timber products, real estate and other interests, after 26 years with the organization. From 1973 to 1980, he served as senior vice president of finance for the Student Loan Marketing Association (“Sallie Mae”). Schwartz has also served on the boards of corporate and not-for-profit organizations, including Plainfield Direct Inc., a privately held business development company (2007-present), the Houston Symphony (2002–2006), United Financial Group (1988-1999) and SLM Funding Corporation (1995-1998), a subsidiary of Sallie Mae.

“Paul Schwartz offers the Museum strong financial experience and a keen business sense,” said Bruce P. Baganz, president of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. “We are pleased to welcome him to the board and anticipate his new ideas and fresh perspective.”

Schwartz is a graduate of New York University (B.A.) and Columbia University (M.B.A.). He resides with his wife Barbara in Houston, Texas.

###

About The Textile Museum

Established in 1925 by George Hewitt Myers, The Textile Museum is an international center for the exhibition, study, collection and preservation of the textile arts. The Museum explores the role that textiles play in the daily and ceremonial life of individuals the world over. Special attention is given to textiles of the Near East, Asia, Africa and the indigenous cultures of the Americas. The Museum also presents exhibitions of historical and contemporary quilts, and fiber art. With a collection of more than 18,000 textiles and rugs and an unparalleled library, The Textile Museum is a unique and valuable resource for people locally, nationally and internationally.

The Textile Museum Announces Director’s Resignation

2009-03-29T00:31:00.000-04:00

The Textile Museum Announces Director’s Resignation
March 25, 2009, Washington, D.C. — The Textile Museum announced today that Director Daniel
Walker has resigned, effective March 23, 2009. Walker has served as director since May 2005.

In his letter of resignation to the Board of Trustees, Walker wrote, “Given the economic climate, this is a difficult time for museums large and small. Therefore, the Board and I have come to a mutual agreement that this is the right moment for me to assist in the transition to a new director. I am eager to return to various research, writing and exhibition projects that have been set aside over the last four years. My devotion to The Textile Museum and its collection is unwavering, and I look forward to providing advice and assistance to the Museum beyond the official conclusion of my tenure.”

Walker’s letter of resignation was reluctantly accepted by Board President Bruce P. Baganz. In response, Baganz said, “The Textile Museum’s Board of Trustees is grateful for Daniel Walker’s leadership over the past four years. His extensive museum experience and thorough knowledge of textiles has helped to reinforce the Museum’s reputation as a world leader in the study and presentation of the textile arts.”

During Walker’s tenure, The Textile Museum presented 16 diverse and highly acclaimed exhibitions, including three curated by the director himself: Seldom Seen: Director’s Choice from the Museum’s Collections (February 10 – July 30, 2006), Pieces of a Puzzle: Classical Persian Carpet Fragments (September 1, 2006 – January 7, 2007), and Recent Acquisitions (March 6, 2009 – January 3, 2010).

Baganz commented, “We anticipate an exciting schedule of diverse exhibitions in the years ahead which will bear Daniel Walker’s artistic mark, including this spring’s Constructed Color: Amish Quilts and the upcoming exhibitions, Contemporary Japanese Fashion: The Mary Baskett Collection, Designing Women of Postwar Britain, and Colors of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats.”

“On behalf of the entire Museum community, we wish Dan all the best in his future endeavors and look forward to an ongoing friendship,” Baganz said.

Danny Shaffer Slams Sotheby's Auction in the FT.com

2009-03-27T23:09:00.001-04:00

The art market: High hopes floored by a carpet

By Georgina Adam

Published: March 28 2009 01:07 | Last updated: March 28 2009 01:07

There has been much coverage of the $5.5m paid for the lavish “Pearl carpet of Baroda” (pictured right) which Sotheby’s sold on March 19 in its new Doha, Qatar location. Predictions were that it could make $20m (£13.6m), but in the event it only just made its $5m estimate. What is more, specialists contest Sotheby’s claims that it sets a new world record for a carpet. “It is no more a carpet than is the glass mosaic Kazak rug that embellishes the grave of the ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev, outside Paris,” says Danny Shaffer of the specialist antique rugs magazine Hali.

Carpets are generally defined as woven textiles that you can walk on without damaging them or your feet: the elaborate 19th-century Baroda piece (originally from the family of the Maharaja of Baroda, possibly commissioned for the tomb of the Prophet in Medina) has millions of seed pearls, semi-precious stones and coloured glass beads; Shaffer describes it as “costume jewellery gone mad”.

Sotheby’s said it had never appeared at auction before, which was true, but it has been knocking around the trade for decades, and was reportedly offered at an art fair for $1m about 15 years ago.

Prophet was Pearl Carpet's saviour

2009-03-21T11:34:00.001-04:00

Prophet was Pearl Carpet's saviour

Devanshi Joshi

Friday, March 20, 2009 12:32 IST

Text

Vadodara: The world's costliest rug, the Pearl Carpet, commissioned by the erstwhile Maharaja of Baroda, Khander Rao Gaekwad, was expected to fetch more than $5 million at an auction in Doha, on Thursday.

In an exclusive interview with DNA, Jeetendra Singh Gaekwad, the great grandnephew of Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad who was adopted by the Gaekwad family, gave an account of the carpet's intriguing history.

Khander Rao had apparently intended to offer the carpet at Prophet Mohammed's mausoleum in Medina. Even in the princely era, artefacts such as the Pearl Carpet were considered to be investments. Jeetendra Singh said that Khander Rao's decision to make an offering of the carpet was governed by his desire to prevent it from being stolen during wars. Singh said that even in the chaos of conflict, nobody dared to touch anything that had any religious significance.

"Khander Rao was fond of grand architecture," Singh said. "He also had a keen interest in the arts and in high culture. The Pearl Carpet of Baroda exemplifies that passion."
Singh said that Khander Rao wanted Indian artisans to learn the craft that had been perfected by their Persian peers, as that would have opened profitable opportunities for them in India.

As for the Pearl Carpet, it flew between several owners before landing at Sotheby's. Sita Devi, who became the second wife of another maharaja of Baroda, late Sir Pratap Singh Gaekwad, took the carpet with her to southern Europe after her divorce from Sir Pratap. It is believed that after her death, the carpet first became the property of a Parsi man and then of an Arab sheikh. The carpet is said to have changed hands a few more times.

"After Independence, the government never tried keenly enough to bring the carpet home," Singh said. "Heavy import duties levied on such objects could have deterred those who wanted to restore the carpet to India."

Singh said that the current government should reclaim the carpet. "It should be displayed at the Baroda museum because it has an emotional value for the city," he said.
According to sources apprised of the royal family's affairs, Mumbai-based Sangram Singh Gaekwad, the grandson of maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwad, was keen to get the carpet back to the country. But apparently his enthusiasm was not shared by other royals.

Carpet Exhibition Opens In Northern Afghanistan

2009-03-20T17:41:00.000-04:00

Carpet Exhibition Opens In Northern Afghanistan

Women weaving carpets in Afghanistan

March 20, 2009

MAZAR-E SHARIF, Afghanistan (RFERL) -- An international carpet exhibition has opened in Afghanistan's northern Balkh Province, RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan (RFA) reports.

The exhibition, held in the provincial capital Mazar-e Sharif, is financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its goal is to promote Afghan carpets on the world market.

Afghanistan's northern regions are well known for their ancient tradition of carpet making. Among the carpets on show at the two-day exhibition are some designs that have won international prizes in previous years.

Noria Azizi, the head of a women's business association, told RFA that the United States is a major market for Afghan carpets.

Pearl Carpet of Baroda Sells for Record $5.5 Million

2009-03-19T20:22:00.001-04:00

Pearl Carpet of Baroda Sells for Record $5.5 Million

By Scott Reyburn

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- An Indian carpet made of pearls and gems today fetched a record $5.5 million at the first series of auctions held by Sotheby’s in the Gulf state of Qatar.

The 5-foot-8-inch by 8-foot-8-inch Pearl Carpet of Baroda had been commissioned in 1865 by the Maharajah of the former Indian state of Baroda, possibly as a gift for the tomb of the prophet Mohammed at Medina, said Sotheby’s.

The carpet, with more than 1 million natural Basra seed pearls, had never been offered before at auction and was expected to fetch at least $5 million, said Sotheby’s. The sale price included fees. The New York-based auction house would not reveal the identity or nationality of the seller in Doha and said it was sold to an anonymous telephone buyer.

Its price beat the previous highest amount paid for a carpet or rug: $4.5 million in June, 2008 at Christie’s International, New York, for a 17th-century Persian silk Isfahan rug that had belonged to the U.S. collector Doris Duke.

During the Qatar sale, an early-17th century Persian velvet panel, showing elegantly-dressed women walking in a garden, sold for $3.4 million, 10 times the upper estimate. The recently- discovered Safavid court textile measured 3-foot-3-inches-wide. It had been in a European private collection for nearly a century and would now be returning to another, said Sotheby’s.

In October 2008, Sotheby’s announced that it would be holding a “major international series of auctions” in Doha in early 2009. The following month, the oil-rich Gulf state opened a new Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M. Pei.

Inaugural Sale

Sellers entered just 18 lots -- plus the carpet, which had its own catalog -- into Sotheby’s inaugural Arts of the Islamic World auction. Only five of the 18 managed to sell. They totaled $4 million with fees. The estimate was $4 million at hammer prices.

Islamic works of art are one of many auction markets that have been affected by the economic slump. Last year, Sotheby’s April 9 Islamic art sale in London fetched a record 21.5 million pounds ($31.1 million). Six months later, on Oct. 8, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and as crude oil fell to its lowest in 10 months, the equivalent Islamic sale at Sotheby’s took 9.3 million pounds.

Yesterday evening, Sotheby’s first auction of international, Arab and Iranian contemporary art in Doha took $4.3 million. This was less than half of the presale estimate of $13.8 million to $19.7 million. Fifty-five percent of the 51 offered lots sold. The top price was the low estimate $974,500 paid for a purple-colored Anish Kapoor stainless-steel mirror sculpture, dated 2003.

“While the contemporary art market is thriving at adjusted levels as we saw in our sales of contemporary art in London in February, tonight’s sale was not supported by the international market place to the extent we had hoped,” Cheyenne Westphal, Sotheby’s chairman of contemporary art for Europe, said in an e-mailed statement after the auction.

(Scott Reyburn writes about the art market for Bloomberg News. Opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer on the story: Scott Reyburn in London at sreyburn@hotmail.com.

Last Updated: March 19, 2009 17:22 EDT

Gem of a carpet is set to break world record

2009-03-15T21:37:00.000-04:00

Gem of a carpet is set to break world record

MANAMA

A HISTORIC carpet containing Bahraini pearls is set to break records when it goes to auction with a starting bid of $5 million (BD1.89m) in Qatar on Thursday. The Pearl Carpet of Baroda will form the centrepiece of Sotheby's inaugural series of sales in Doha and will be sold alongside other objects in the Arts of the Islamic World auction.

It will set a record if it sells at the price, beating the $4.45m (BD1.68m) paid for a silk Persian rug in New York, at Christie's last year.

However, it is expected to fetch up to $20m (BD7.5m) when it goes under the hammer, according to auctioneers.

It is embroidered with one and a half million Basra pearls, which were harvested in the southern Gulf region and along the coasts of Bahrain and Qatar, says Sotheby's.

It is also embellished with diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies.

"Named after its patron, it was commissioned circa 1865 by Gaekwar Khande Rao, the Maharaja of Baroda; reputedly originally intended as a gift for the tomb of (Prophet) Mohammed at Medina," it said.

The intended gift was never delivered as the maharaja died before he made the donation and the carpet remained in his family.

"It is fitting that a historic object as magnificent and unique as the Pearl Carpet of Baroda is a major highlight of our inaugural series of auctions in Doha," said Sotheby's rugs and carpets worldwide director Mary Jo Otsea.

"The carpet has never appeared at auction before and the sale therefore represents an unparalleled opportunity to acquire an extraordinarily significant work of art. I am delighted that Middle Eastern collectors will be able to view this stunning work."

Exhibited in 1902 as a highlight of the Delhi Exhibition displaying the wealth of the maharajas, it was later moved to Monaco with Maharani Sita Devi, who took the carpet along with her jewellery collection when she moved to the Mediterranean.

For the first time in over 80 years, the carpet was once again showcased in the 1985 landmark exhibition India at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Moldovan carpetmaker Elena Spinei

2009-03-15T01:19:00.000-04:00

A Lonely Carpet Maker Weaves Masterpieces And Dreams Of Better Days

Moldovan carpetmaker Elena Spinei was taught to weave by her mother. She, in turn, has taught her three nieces the art.

March 14, 2009

By Elena Moldoveanu

CHISINAU -- Far from the hustle and bustle of urban life, Elena Spinei sings in her home in the Moldovan village of Badiceni.

"One evening in Constanta, which I will never forget..."

She sings to relieve her solitude. And as she sings, she weaves.

She is weaving a carpet, and the loom takes up most of the room in which she lives during the winter.

One of her finished carpets is hanging on the wall above her bed. It is a colorful carpet, filled with roses that have deep red and pink colors and are scattered in bouquets over a cream background. The effect is cheery and dignified, and filled with the strength that comes from generations of tradition.

Carpet making has a long history here. By ancient custom, a bride had to include carpets that she had made by her own hand as part of her dowry. They were a measure of a girl's industriousness, her dexterity, and her artistic abilities.

The carpet would go into the "casa mare," the "big house" of a clan's compound. The clan's families had their own sleeping quarters nearby but every evening came together in this place. With its walls hung with the portraits of grandparents, parents, and children and decorated with the embroidery of successive generations, the big house was a memorial to the clan itself.

"I learned to weave from my mother," Spinei says. "You should be careful not to make mistakes, because it is very difficult to do."

Weaving Parties

Decades ago, her carpet weaving was not so solitary. The villagers organized parties where all the young girls and housewives sang songs and wove together. The group efforts were a major economic activity that helped to bring Badiceni, and hundreds of similar small villages, more than just what the fields produce.

"A feeling of freshness" -- that's how one carpet producer described Moldovan carpets, such as this one by Elena Spinei.

"My father went to Nikolaev, Ukraine, and exchanged carpets for corn, wool, and clothes," Spinei remembers. "But in the 1970s, the tradition got lost because people went to work in collective farms."

Collectivization took a long time to reach this remote region squeezed between Ukraine and Romania. The area was annexed into the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

Soviet ruler Josef Stalin sliced off parts and attached them to Ukraine. The rest became the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. Moscow heavily industrialized the new republic's region east of Dniestr River and encouraged Ukrainians and Russians to come work in its factories.

The market for private goods disappeared.

"At the beginning of the '70s there was an orchard in the collective farm and people went to work," Spinei says. "The villagers had no time to weave. Many of them gave up on weaving. Just some of them were weaving but now they had nowhere to sell them, so they wove them for themselves."

Migration Of Labor

Today, Moldova is independent and has a free market. But the economic situation is worse than before.

That is because of what happened on the day Moldova was granted membership in the United Nations in 1992. The region east of the Dniestr River began a war of secession.

After four months of fighting, the Transdniestr forces, boosted by Russian arms and Cossacks, carved out their own self-rule entity whose flag still bears the Soviet hammer and sickle. The riverside factories were no longer under Moldova's control and with them went the country's hopes for an industrial economy. The great out migration of labor began.

The humble home of carpetmaker Elena Spinei

Spinei says she tried to pass on her weaving skills to the next generation. But who needs what can't sell?

"I have three nieces," Spinei says. "I taught all of them to weave, but I doubt if anyone weaves among my relatives."

She says she has periodically tried to find a market for her weavings, but without success.

She has exhibited some of her carpets in a few exhibitions that local craftsmen have organized in the district center.

And she donated one of the rugs she wove when she was young to a local museum. That was in hopes that passing tourists might appreciate her work.

No Demand For Handicrafts

But few tourists come. And in Moldova, there is almost no demand for handicrafts that take months to make. It is cheaper to buy the simple machine-made rugs that come in from China in search of the money your relatives send from the West.

Foreigners who do go to Moldova sometimes say it seems to be peopled only by children, old women, and policemen, like a country at war. The able-bodied are far away, fighting to make ends meet.

It is an irony of fate that Spinei is so isolated from the rest of the world. Because, in fact, there is a rich market for her weavings, if only she could connect with it.

Moldovan suitcase traders occasionally bring Moldovan carpets to Istanbul to sell. They go straight to the Grand Bazaar where the carpet sellers are. There, they unroll the rugs before the dealers, who pretend they have no interest but buy them anyway -- as if from charity.

It is easy to feign boredom when the suitcases open. The bazaar is full of rugs from every corner of the east, from colorful Turkish kilims for tourists, to luxurious Persian carpets for rich businessmen, to antique Turkmen weavings that only collectors can afford. Offering a simple Moldovan is like bringing a faded rose into a flower shop.

Still, the carpet merchants know the Moldovans have value. So, they forward them to Western Europe.

Attracting Interest In Germany

Some old Moldovan weavings recently came up for sale in Germany. An Istanbul dealer had brought a small stack of them to Domotex, the carpet world's largest trade show, which takes place every January in Hanover.

The fair is where hundreds of carpet producers from Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China meet with the thousands of wholesalers who supply Europe's retail carpet shops. The hand-woven carpets fill five hangar-sized halls, creating a giant souk where millions of euros change hands in four days.

Spinei, surrounded by her handiwork

The richest merchants sit in glass enclosures. Others simply sit among the knee-high and thigh-high piles of rugs. Everywhere, hired muscle men flip back carpets as buyers look with on with calculators.

The Moldovan carpets are stacked up at one corner of the stand of the Turkish company Ozmelek Hali. They already have attracted the interest of a trio of buyers from Norway.

The Norwegians have a small catalogue company called Home and Cottage, south of Oslo. The company specializes in supplying the kind of rough, unvarnished furniture that looks like it has been stored in the family attic for generations.

One of the trio, Kaj Roger, says the Moldovan carpets fit well with Norwegian cottage decors.

"We have a lot of cottages in Norway and at the cottage it should be 'old style,' " Roger says. "It's a place to relax."

Does he mean the Moldovan carpets somehow represent the good old days, a grandmother's weavings, memories of lifetimes past?

The three Norwegians, who are entering middle age, do not object to any of these suggestions. Norway itself has lost so much of its traditional life that such furnishings have to come from elsewhere.

The longing of overworked, overstressed Western Europeans for simpler times represents an obvious market for Spinei, who has too much time on her hands. But the commercial isolation of Moldova makes it difficult for their two worlds too meet.

'Feeling Of Freshness'

Instead, the opportunities already are passing on to others. Not far from Ozmelek Hali, there is another small collection of Moldovan carpets hanging from the wall of the stand of an Indian carpet producer, Manglam Arts.

It's a feeling of freshness, you know, that always makes you think about a garden and flowers.

The company's owner, R.K. Rawat of Jaipur, says he first saw a Moldovan carpet five years ago and was immediately attracted by them. Now he produces about 50 a month.

"It's a feeling of freshness, you know, that always makes you think about a garden and flowers," Rawat says.

Rawat says getting Indian weavers to reproduce Moldovans was not easy.

"I found one particular village that was interested, and the weavers were very flexible, but it still took a few years because they had just some photos to work from," he says. "They didn't have the original piece in their hands."

Now, the Indian-woven Moldovans are on their way to filling a market niche that, in today's globalized world, belongs to whoever recognizes and satisfies it fastest.

Rawat says he plans to increase production in the months ahead to build on the success his carpets are already enjoying with buyers at this trade show and others.

And Spinei, who just hopes for better times, keeps weaving alone.

RFE/RL correspondents Charles Recknagel and Eugen Tomiuc contributed to this article from Prague.

Avoid "Short Notice Auctions"

2009-03-12T11:59:00.004-04:00

For years I have cautioned about "Short Notice Auctions" and this article demonstrates why. When you see an ad about an auction held in a ballroom or convention center watch out. If it suggests a link to the "FEDERAL" Government watch out. If it suggests that the rugs were seized by Customs, Watch Out.

MONTREAL - Ross Palumbo thought he knew a deal when he saw one.

He spotted a newspaper ad for an auction of "seized cargo, unclaimed abandoned jewelry and watches, estate Persian rugs" at Montreal's Dorval Hilton, and decided to go have a look.

A men's Rolex watch came up for bid. The Oyster Perpetual Datejust was a beauty with 10 diamonds embedded in its dial and a gleaming steel and gold bracelet. Palumbo was delighted to win the watch with a bid of $4,500, far less than the written appraised retail value of $12,000 provided by the auction house.

His delight was short-lived.

Palumbo sent the watch to Rolex Canada for an independent appraisal for insurance purposes. Two weeks later, he got a letter from the service department with bad news; his timepiece was a mutt requiring more than $5,000 in parts and repairs.

"After careful examination, we noted that the watch has been modified in many areas: non-Rolex diamond dial, non-Rolex bracelet and converted bezel and crystal ... these conversions do not meet Rolex technical requirements. We regret that we cannot carry out normal service unless the watch is returned to its original design."

The auction business is a largely unregulated frontier in Canada, with rules that vary from province to province. Some jurisdictions, like Saskatchewan and Alberta, require auction companies to register, buy a licence and post a $25,000 bond before conducting business. That bond can be used to settle claims by dissatisfied consumers.

In contrast, anyone can call him or herself an auctioneer in Quebec. There is no licence or bond requirement. This lack of consistent regulation means there is little to deter unscrupulous auctioneers from plying their trade across the country and little recourse for consumers who feel victimized.

Two travelling auction houses, Heritage Auctioneers and Federal Auction Service, are not related, but both employ advertising and sales tactics that have put them at odds with regulators across the country and resulted in consumer complaints. One of Federal Auction Service's auctioneers is Salim Khan, whose siblings Anwar and Azam Khan have been sanctioned repeatedly by U.S. regulators for publishing misleading auction ads and misrepresenting the provenance of goods they have offered at auction through various companies in the U.S.

Salim Khan is quick to distance himself from his siblings, saying he has not worked with them for several years. He told the Montreal Gazette in a fax: "Although members of the Federal Auction Service team are part of the Khan family, they wish to state publicly that they do not have any manner of business relationship with Azam and Anwar Khan or companies under their ownership."

On Jan. 1, a Montreal woman and her boyfriend attended an auction held by Heritage Auctioneers in a chilly warehouse near Montreal's Trudeau airport. She bought two ladies' diamond rings for $450 and $800, plus a 15 per cent buyer's premium paid directly to the auction house and PST and GST. The rings came with appraisal certificates that stated their retail value was $2,100 and $4,000, respectively.

An independent appraiser consulted by the Montreal Gazette disputed the stated carat weight of the diamonds. Based on the size and quality of the stones, gold content and labour involved in their making, she estimated the rings' retail value at $900 and $1,100 each.

In the industry, retail value is calculated by adding the value of materials and labour and multiplying by a 250 per cent markup. With the rings, the auction house appeared to inflate the price by 500 per cent.

"You didn't overpay, but you didn't get what you thought you bought,' said Colleen Whitthoeft, an appraiser with more than 20 years of industry experience.

She neither buys nor sells jewelry but grades stones for the diamond trade. She also does consumer appraisals for insurance and estate purposes.

Another Montrealer paid nearly $30,000 for three rugs, two pairs of earrings and a gold bracelet at a Heritage auction at a downtown Montreal hotel. The merchandise came with appraisal certificates pegging the value of the merchandise at more than $266,000.

An independent appraiser later told the buyer his carpets were low-grade and worth "pennies on the dollar," the buyer said. The jewelry was also worth less than the auction house claimed, according to a jewelry appraiser engaged by the buyer.

All three consumers were drawn to the auctions after reading newspaper advertisements placed by Heritage Auctioneers, whose company headquarters are in Richmond Hill, Ont.

The ads, featuring diamond jewelry and watches, promised "sheriff-seized jewelry" and "items previously seized by customs." All three went looking for bargains and say they ended up learning a hard lesson in "buyer beware."

Palumbo's lawyer sent a tersely worded letter to the auction house. Eventually he received most of his money back, minus a $450 "handling fee." The entire experience has soured him on auctions.

Heritage Auctioneers refused a Gazette interview request.

Heritage, which also uses the name Heritage International, Bloomsbury & Butterfield and Bloomsbury Auctioneers & Appraisers, is operated by 1656786 Ontario Inc. The company organizes auctions in hotel meeting rooms and banquet halls from Victoria to St. John's, N.L.

On Feb.18, the company hosted a sale at Calgary's Blackfoot Inn. Last Sunday it hosted an auction of "Canadian government certified N.W.T. certified Canadian diamonds," among other baubles, at the upscale Hilton Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Que.

Recently, Federal Auction Service organized a sale at Montreal's Intercontinental Hotel featuring, among other items, a Mercedes-Benz SL65 and a Rolls-Royce Phantom, neither of which was actually on display.

In April 2004, former NDP MP Svend Robinson was caught on camera pocketing a diamond ring during a Federal Auction Service sale in Richmond, B.C. The auction company did not press charges.

In March 2005, the company paid a $25,000 penalty to the Competition Bureau after agreeing not to represent itself as having been retained, authorized or instructed to sell items on behalf of the federal government.

The bureau got involved after Federal Auction Service began publishing ads in 1999 that falsely asserted it was liquidating inventory seized by customs and or recovered from the proceeds of crime. Despite that brush with regulators, the company's website still has a link titled "government contracts," and at its recent Montreal sale the auctioneer assured the audience that Federal Auction Service "is contracted to the government of Canada."

Federal Auction Service asked that any questions about the company be submitted in writing by fax.

In August 2002, Alberta's Government Services Appeal Board cancelled the auction licence of a company called Federal Collection Service after finding it contravened the province's Fair Trading Act by repeatedly running auction ads that misled the public. Kashif Khan was identified as one of those responsible for placing newspaper ads on the company's behalf.

In October 2002, Kashif Khan was back in business operating under the name of Federal Auction Service (Alberta) Inc. A spokesman for Alberta's Ministry of Government Services said FAS employees Amir Durrani and Khan have been cautioned repeatedly in that province for misleading advertising about "seized goods." The pair are now director of auctions and assistant director of auctions for Federal Auction Service in Ontario.

The Ontario consumer protection office has had four written consumer complaints about Federal Auction Service and two other inquiries since 1999. Five complaints were about misrepresentation of merchandise and the sixth was about the company's failure to offer a refund, said Ciaran Ganley, a spokesman for Ontario's Ministry of Government Services.

Both Ontario's Better Business Bureau and Quebec's Consumer Protection Office have received complaints about Heritage Auctioneers. In Quebec, the office registered complaints in 2002 and 2005 from consumers who alleged that the company made false representations about either the value or provenance of the jewelry and carpets the company sold them. The office suggested both complainants contact lawyers, said department spokesman Jean-Jacques Preaux.

At the Federal Auction Service event in Montreal, the auctioneer was a master of smooth delivery, reassuring those in the audience that they could bid with confidence.

"Federal Auction Service gets the watches seized by Canada Customs, by tax recovery and by theft recovery," said Salim Khan before the bidding started. "You have to be careful that what you buy is authentic, ladies and gentlemen. Birks got caught and Rolex pulled their licence."

That provoked an indignant response from Birks.

"That is an outrageous statement," said Michelle Laberge, a spokesman for the jewelry chain. She explained that during the economic downturn of the mid-1990s, Rolex stopped supplying chain jewelry stores, including Birks. "The decision had to to with the number of bankruptcies in the industry, not with issues of fraud."

Birks & Mayors Inc., the jewelry chain's parent company, continues to sell Rolexes in its 28 Mayor's stores in the U.S., she added.

The Auctioneers Association of Canada has been monitoring the activities of certain itinerant auction houses since the 1980s and is frustrated by the lack of national governing standards.

"We're trying to promote a degree of professionalism in the industry, but with the different rules in every province it's hard to get anyone's ear," said Hudson auctioneer Gary Peterson, chairman and past president of the AAC.

Auctioneers belonging to the 270-member AAC must adhere to a code of ethics. Consumers who feel they have been wronged have a forum for complaint. The group mediates and, if necessary, will ask a three-member panel to rule on a dispute. Peterson has been on the losing end of panel decisions. He never likes it, but recognizes that without public confidence the auction business can't work.

Federal and Heritage are not members of the AAC.

The AAC would like to see rules put in place requiring auctioneers to be members of recognized industry group such as the AAC or its U.S. equivalent, the National Auctioneers Association.

In the end, healthy skepticism may be a consumer's best protection when attending an auction. The Montrealer who spent $29,894 on low-grade carpets and jewelry said he went to the Heritage auction with $300 in his pocket, planning to buy a piece of jewelry for his wife. He quickly got caught up in the excitement of the event.

"The merchandise looked real and they had documents for everything they sold me," said the man, who asked not to be identified because of his embarrassment.

He did not find it strange that two of the appraisal certificates were signed "James Goodenough," while the third was signed "Jim Mirkalami." Mirkalami is the director of Heritage Auctioneers.

Palumbo's doctored Rolex was supposed to come with documents certifying its authenticity as well as the watch's original box. Instead, he received a photocopied certificate and a generic gift box by mail weeks after the auction.

Heritage and Federal Auction Service share similar business practices that raise eyebrows in traditional auctioneering circles.

They include lightning-quick visits to different cities and an equally quick departure. Both companies allow a one-hour preview before the auction begins and require those attending to register with a piece of photo identification before being allowed to enter the auction room. In Montreal, Federal Auction required members of the public to leave a piece of ID at the registration desk.

Most controversial of all, both auction companies erect barriers in the centre of the hall so that participants on the left side cannot see the participants on the right side. At times, including the event at the Intercontinental, the auctioneer appeared to be accepting bids from empty chairs at the back of the hall. All three of the consumers interviewed by the Gazette said they were uncomfortable with the way the sightlines were blocked.

"The bid kept going up and up, but I couldn't see who was bidding against me," said the buyer of the oriental carpets. "I've been to many other auctions and never seen that."

At FAS's Intercontinental sale, barriers bearing "customer testimonials" were placed at the back and in the centre aisle. Participants who tried to stand at the back of the room were told to sit by auction staff. The auctioneer later defended the practice, saying blocking the centre aisle was a security measure to deter thieves.

"There is more than $20 million worth of jewelry in the room, so if you discuss our security arrangements I hope you are ready to accept liability for what might happen," Salim Khan said.

mlamey@thegazette.canwest.com

Montreal Gazette

SIDEBAR

MONTREAL - A company calling itself Citizens Union ran ads in the Montreal Gazette last fall for an auction of "ex-police confiscated valuables."

Another ad showed a palatial estate and promised a "valuable partial collection of spouse of Ex-Real Estate Developer/Builder. Goods previously acquired by auction house as a result of previous financial restructuring."

The company is one of several operated by brothers Anwar and Azam Khan, whose roving auctions have been sanctioned by regulators in several U.S. states for misleading the public about the origins or value of the items they auction.

Among the items listed were "etchings, lithographs and other mediums by and after Picasso, Chagall" among other noted artists. The auction also featured fine furniture, hand-knotted Persian and oriental carpets in silk and wool, as well as jewelry and watches.

The Khans are the brother of Salim Khan, Federal Auction Service's auctioneer.

One of Anwar and Azam Khan's preferred techniques is to rent for a weekend an exclusive estate that is up for sale and then stage an auction on the grounds, leading buyers to believe they are buying items from the estate.

Here is a roundup of some of the rulings against Anwar and Azam Khan.

- August 2004: Fidelity First Financial paid a $10,000 US fine in Massachusetts for falsely advertising multimillion-dollar estate sales and government-seized property. The attorney general found that many of the items advertised at its auction as valuable antiques were in fact cheap reproductions. The company admitted no wrongdoing.

- October 2004: Fidelity First Financial cancelled an auction in Sioux City, Iowa, after receiving a subpoena from the state attorney general ordering the company to prove the authenticity of works by Dali, Chagall and Manet advertised in an auction ad. The action came after the auctioneers advertised a "spectacular estate auction" to liquidate items belonging to "an internationally renowned Art and Antique Dealer," "due to divorce." The subpoena remains in effect.

- January 2002: The Auctioneers Board of Virginia fined Azam Khan $3,000 and suspended his auctioneering licence for one year after he was found to have run false, misleading or deceptive advertisements and failed to keep proper records.

- November 2001: Oregon's attorney general filed a permanent injunction against Fidelity First Financial for publishing ads that misled the public into thinking the goods being auctioned were connected to the sale of million-dollar homes. Fidelity First was ordered to submit all its ads to the Justice Department before publication for a period of four years. The company was fined $2,500.

- November 2000: Azam Khan was fined a $2,000 civil penalty in Pennsylvania for having disciplinary actions against him in two other states.

- April 2000: Azam Khan's auctioneer licence was suspended in Florida and he was fined $1,500.

Montreal Gazette

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