Soumak

Commissioned by the Anglo-Swiss firm of Ziegler & Co.

A large ivory lozenge medallion, outlined in soft green, sits over a rust-red field covered in a small-scale repeat of herati-type palmettes and leaf forms rendered in rose, slate blue, and olive. The spandrels surrounding the medallion continue the same dense floral lattice in deeper terracotta tones, while the wide border presents a rhythmic sequence of rosettes and palmettes framed by narrow guard stripes of blue and gold meander.

The field is a pale blue ground covered with a small repeating fan or shell lattice pattern, scattered over with loosely spaced floral sprays in pink, coral, olive, and lavender. A soft brown border with a scalloped inner edge carries a continuous trailing floral vine in matching pink and cream tones, framed by a slender rose-colored guard stripe.

Provenance: William and Babe Paley, Kiluna Farm, Manhasset, NY

Wilton Carpet, Regency Period

The field is a warm gold ground scattered evenly with small sprigs of pink and cream blossoms and pale green leaves, giving an all-over speckled effect. It is enclosed by notched spandrel corners and a broad border of ribbon and trailing ivy, the pink ribbon twisting through green foliage against a soft brown ground. A slim guard stripe of small linked ovals in cream and rust frames the outer edge.

Royal Textile Factory of Cuenca (Real Fabrica de Tejidos de Cuenca). Provenance: Palazzo Volpi Rome, Count Volpi di Misurata

Regency Axminster carpet from Devon, Great Britain. George IV Period

An ivory ground scattered loosely with sprays of pink roses, small blossoms, and sage-green foliage runs to a border of dusty rose ground carrying large acanthus scrolls and rosettes in olive green, mauve, and gold, all framed by a plain camel-colored outer band. Corner medallions of curling acanthus leaves anchor the border scheme, and a narrow ivory guard stripe with a wave motif separates the border from the outer edge.

Louis XV Period. Provenance: Ephrussi de Rothschild Collection

An ivory field opens to a central medallion formed by an oval scrolling frame enclosing a bouquet of pink and rose-toned flowers with sage foliage. Each corner carries a matching cartouche of acanthus scrollwork and floral sprays in dusty rose, cream, and soft brown, echoed at the mid-points of the border. A wide rose-red border trimmed in dark brown and pale gold striped bands frames the composition, with a narrow patterned guard stripe running along the outer edge.