A Primer in Luxury (Part 2)
PART TWO OF THREE PARTS
Read Part One Here; Part Three Here
Jan David Winitz, President and Founder of Claremont Rug Company, Talks to Private Air/Luxury Homes Magazine About How to Build Luxury from the Ground Up with Art-level Antique Rugs
By Gina Samarotto
Large antique Hadji Jallili Tabriz carpet unifies Great Room in French ancestral home.
In Part 1 of this three-part Q&A with Private Air, Winitz addressed the often-asked query of how antique carpets can be used in contemporary residential architecture. This week, he talks about how Persian and tribal rugs can interplay with other art collections in one’s home, as well as placing carpets in traditional and Asian-inspired decors.
PALH: For clients who already collect paintings or sculpture, what guidelines do you have for incorporating antique rugs into their art collections? How would one go about creating a rug collection that complements rather than competes with other art collections in the home?
JDW: Every form of art can be augmented by one or several styles in the pantheon of antique carpets. Most art collectors have very distinctive taste, and with a bit of guidance, they soon discover the rugs that best complement it. As the aesthetic principles of balance and harmony are central in antique Oriental rugs, they naturally integrate well with other artforms rather than competing. I can quickly glean which rug styles will most effectively amplify my clients’ art collections by their complementary colors and pattern rhythm.
The myriad successful pairings we have done include a curvilinear Manchester Kashan rug with a Lichtenstein painting, angular Bakshaish rugs with Georgia O’Keefe and Rodin statuary, and a series of camelhair carpets with a Klee and a Diego Rivera. In each case, the pairing became more than the sum of its parts. Notably, runners in gallery hallways bring the same splendor and magic onto the floor as the canvases on the wall.
A luxurious palace-size antique Manchester Kashan was chosen to complement the Lichtenstein painting in this client’s living room.
Above left: Collectors of American contemporary art used Persian floral rugs as a contrast in scale to their largest pieces. (Design: Kimberly Hopper I.D.) Lower left: This sitting room with a Bakshaish Camelhair rug on the floor hints at the varied collections this client assembled. Right: For this art collecting client, a passageway becomes a gallery that includes this seldom-seen large Persian Afshar rug.
For another client, richly toned, elaborately patterned Ferahan Sarouk rugs became the ideal juxtaposition for their important collection of early black and white photographs that line their walls. Floral rugs have been chosen to amplify an award-winning garden design, tribal rugs are often selected for spaces displaying aboriginal or ethnic art, and a Mohtasham Kashan to accompany a collection of antique stringed instruments.
PALH: How do you approach enhancing a traditional home with antique rugs?
JDW: Of course, this is the pairing we are all most accustomed to – antique carpets with crown moldings, coffered ceilings, and floors with magnificent inlay. This quintessential style of luxury is still in high demand. For this application, the intricate designs and rich tones of the numerous Persian floral styles continue to be favored.
For bedroom suites, traditionalists often use Laver Kirmans or Hadji Jallili Tabrizs for their soft palettes and botanical designs. The architectural-like grandeur of geometric Serapis has a long history of use in historical homes in New England and the South. We completely outfitted a classical Dallas home of a sophisticated art connoisseur with a significant collection of best-of-the-best antique Persian carpets that feature elaborate designs and heraldic medallions to echo the lines of her English antiques.
The allover design of the Sultanabad in this traditional living room contributes harmonious patterning, warmth, and an artistic base on the floor.
An early Tabriz from the Hadji Jallili workshop graces the light-filled home office of this elegant Tuscan inspired home. (Design: Sue Firestone, Sue Firestone & Associates.)
PALH: How about homes with an Asian-influenced aesthetic?
JDW: Rugs with small repetitive designs or low contrast colors inimitably reflect the quiet mood of Asian decors, whether traditional or modern. Renowned for their petit point overall patterning, carpets such as Ferahan, Senneh, and Ziegler Sultanabad contribute a shimmering beauty to a space. These are “rhythm rugs” that provide melodic background music rather than a full-blown symphony. When viewed close up, they are absolutely mesmerizing.
Styles that offer low color contrast and employ understated palettes of generally delicate, softer hues ideal for Eastern decors are early Mohtasham Kashans, Ziegler Sultanabads, very old Bakshaishs, and Hadji Jallili Tabrizs. These styles may or may not have medallions, but their overall effect on an environment is gentle, ethereal, one of understated sophistication. The oldest of these rugs offer palettes that include utterly delicate hues so expertly dyed their tonal value is still intact after 150 years or more. Illumined by a glowing patina, they literally dance in the changing lights of day and imbue their surroundings with a magical ambiance.
An antique Mohtashan Kashan with a rare allover pattern and butternut-toned field completes the owner’s creation of a Zen atmosphere.
Left: A mellow wall color and use of an antique Bakshaish camelhair rug together create a quiet ambiance in this personal space. Right: The juxtaposition of an elemental Serab camelhair runner and Indonesian dervish statue capture the mood of another place and time.
Read Part 3:
“A Primer in Luxury”
In which Winitz speaks about different approaches to furnishing a very large room and tips for a newcomer to antique carpets embarking on using them in their home.
