Hudson River Valley Collectors Further Empty Vault of Art-Level Rugs

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the family of a retired Wall Street financier based in New York'sHudson River Valley as "a monumental assemblage of 19th centuryart-level carpets."

He said it is not uncommon for a large collection to be divulged instages as the sellers "become comfortable with the process ofappropriate placement. At this level, we are dealing withsignificant pieces of art and the passing of ownership is of a verypersonal nature."

More than 70 additional pieces from the family's cache are beingadded to the Collection event. The rugs will be available atClaremont's website www.claremontrug.com, beginning July 25 and atthe gallery on the following day. The collection comprises a rangeof rugs from art-level weavers, with some of the pieces twocenturies old.

Recent international auction results demonstrate that the artmarket as a whole has been extremely strong. "The response to thecarpets in our ongoing Hudson River Valley Collection sale verifiesthat the interest in top-tier antique rugs shows equal vitalitywith other antiquities such as art and antiques," said Winitz, anoted collector and investor who created Claremont nearly threedecades ago.

Last month, a 17th century Isfahan sold for $4.4 million, more thandouble the previous record price for a rug at auction. Winitzpointed out that 19th century rugs of the caliber of those in theHudson River Valley Collection rarely appear at auction, and "theyregularly sell for considerably above their high estimate."

Winitz said, "The Collection has evoked reactions that reflect thesuperlative caliber of virtually every piece. It is also indicativeof a major leap in the global recognition of the profound artisticsignificance of the best antique rugs."

He said that many ongoing Claremont clients, who previously boughtrugs as high-end home furnishings, see purchases of rugs from theHudson River inventory of art-level rugs as an opportunity tocreate museum-level collections, which they display on the floorsand walls throughout their homes.

Claremont's clients, who are also fine art collectors and includemore than two dozen people listed in the Forbes 400, have beenaccessing the Hudson River Valley Collection to create additionalinventories to store and to rotate. As a result, Winitz said,"Every month this year has been a record breaker for us."

Winitz pointed out that there is substantial evidence that antiqueOriental rugs "are a precursor to modern Western art." He said, "Weknow that many great Western artists understood the art value ofgreat rugs and studied them intensely."

He noted that Cubists, notably Klee and Kadinsky, studied theabstract forms of tribal rugs as they created "a new,non-representational artistic aesthetic." Others, including Gauguinand Matisse, "were enthralled in the rug's inventive use of color,"he said.

Winitz said, "Our clients are discovering what the first generationof collectors recognized long ago, that the knowledge of combiningcolor and design seen in some rugs is as masterful as is found inany painting."

He added, "Great rugs have a profound emotive effect. Wool is aterrific medium for evoking great visual depth and texture. Thedeeply patented surface of a 125-200-year-old carpet absorbs andreflects light in a manner that is truly astonishing."

"As I have been telling my clients over the past 28 years,first-rate 19th century rugs are an under-discovered art formworthy of serious collection," he said. "These are one-in-the-worlditems. Although their value is rising dramatically, they are stillavailable at a fraction of the price of other forms of art."

The Collection is the culmination of a three-part acquisition byWinitz. The first segment consisted of 225 rugs, the entirecollection of a retired Wall Street financier. Soon thereafter, thecollector's sister, who had assembled a trove of her own, made 65rugs available to Claremont.

Now, she has revealed that these were just part of a moreconsiderable cache. She decided to divest the rugs that graced herNew York City apartment, along with those she had in storage. Bothtribal rugs, such as Caucasians and Afshars, and classical carpets,including Kermanshah and Hadji Jallili Tabriz, are represented.

Winitz said, "I am elated that this final group includes some ofthe most extraordinary pieces in the entire Hudson River Valleytreasury." He mentioned in particular a 200-year-old CaucasianMemling Gul Kazak, measuring 6x11 with a profusion of prizedemerald and forest green. He also cited a 150-year-old HadjiJallili Tabriz in the size of 9-1/2 x 13 that has already been soldto a private client with "an extraordinarily fine weave,superlative condition and a naturalistic design drawn withastonishing clarity."

Winitz is contacted periodically when serious collectors wish todivest themselves of their carpets, but indicated that The HudsonRiver Valley Collection is the most significant in his 28 years ofbusiness. Along with American buyers, it has already attractednumerous purchasers from Europe, some of whom have flown in for theevent and other who have made acquisitions from the selection onClaremont's website.

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