Claremont announces additional Hudson River Valley collection
01 May '08
3 min read
"As with her brother's collection, her cache contains a series of once-in-a-lifetime, museum-level works of a caliber that virtually never comes to market," said Winitz. One example, a Bakshaish Camelhair Long Rug dating to the second quarter of the 19th century "presents a one-in-the-world use of archetypal designs and artful asymmetry.
"Her room size Ferahan Sarouk inscribed with a date corresponding to 1804 A.D. and signed 'Masterwork of the Delmaghani family,' features an unfathomable level of preservation at over 200 years old," he said. "This monumental work of woven art demonstrates the pinnacle of craftsmanship and reaches a profound artistic height achieved very occasionally, even in such early pieces."
Winitz, an internationally recognized authority and author, has been acquiring museum-level carpets for more than three decades. "The depth and quality of both Hudson River Valley collections is utterly astounding," he said.
"The two generations of this family have been very serious, major collectors of this art form over a 50-year period and I have tremendous respect for how exhaustive and uncompromising they were. Both the brother and the sister inherited masterworks from their parents' massive collection and strategically supplemented them with many important purchases of their own. Several of the rugs are of a caliber that has been unseen in the international market for decades." he said.