Rugs and carpets still play a minor role in the programs of Germany's auction houses, where they are mostly included in the furniture lots. The tremendous efforts of the Maltzahns, however, have propelled Rippon Boswell to the Number One specialist house for collectible rugs in Germany.
At the Nagel auction on October 13, a total of 358 lots were offered. The book lots generated broad interest as only two remained unsold. The situation was quite different with the rugs where 110, or 40 percent, did not find buyers. An additional 75 lots, more than 27 percent, were "provisional" sales. (In American parlance these were possible "after-sale sales.") Hammer prices equaled or surpassed the estimates on 58 rugs (21%). This was rather a disappointing sale for the Nagel management who had expected a significant turnaround. The sales room was full, and everyone anticipated stronger bidding; instead most bidder sat on their paddles observing the action.
Despite this ennui, there were some interesting finds at reasonable prices. Among the books, lot 19, Bogolubov's Tapis de l'Asie Centrale brought three times the estimate at $9,500. A 19th century torba of the Ersari group, lot 211, with a very rare design resembling Persian botehs, made $8,700, well above the estimate of $5,900.
| A 17th century Transylvanian rug, lot 250, (see McMullan, pl. 85), previously unpublished, sold for $31,500, the second largest sale of the day. |
The second section of the sale, Anatolian rugs and kilims, was where the highest prices of the auction resulted. Lot 243, a three panel Central Anatolian kilim, probably 18th century, almost complete, with fascinating colors, went to a German collector at the estimate of $19,700. A 17th century Transylvanian rug, lot 250, (see McMullan, pl. 85), previously unpublished, sold for $31,500, the second largest sale of the day. The star of the Anatolian section was lot 263, an early 16th century blue ground medallion Ushak. There are only a few comparable pieces, e.g. Thyssen-Bornemisza, pl. 14, Jacoby (1922) pl. 32. This formidable carpet fetched $35,400 and was carried away by a London dealer. Lot 272, a Western Anatolian Chal village rug with aubergine ground main border of C-forms and yellow field was knocked down at $13,400 (estimate $15,700).
 | The star of the Anatolian section was lot 263, an early 16th century blue ground medallion Ushak. |
There were no outstanding Caucasian rugs in this sale. Lot 287, a 19th century Saliani, in full pile but slightly reduced in length, exceeded its estimate and sold at $15,000. Lot 296, a late 19th century Borjalu Kazak, should be mentioned because it was very similar in design to lot 97 at Rippon Boswell. Differences in design, quality of wool, and colors could be compared. Whether the almost tenfold difference in their estimates was justified had to be left to the buyers. Nagel's lot sold for $5,100, while Rippon Boswell found at buyer at $39,400.
The Persian weavings contained several early Kashan and Vase carpet fragments, some from the Bausback collection. They either did not sell or sold only provisionally below the reserves. The highest price made in this section was $31,500 for a 19th century Tabriz, lot 380, with 300,000 knots per square meter.
The final section of Turkoman and Far Eastern rugs had no highlights. Of four tentbands, two sold. A Tauk Naska Chodor main carpet, lot 421, estimated at $18,900, was provisionally sold at $12,600.
By and large, Nagel's auction cannot be called a success. It might be a long way back to its once top position in Germany.
The Mangisch sale included 75 book and 337 rug lots. The only lot to sell above $20,000 was a 1950s white ground Mashhad palace carpet which brought $31,500, near the low estimate. Lot 266, a yellow ground Konya rug depicted in Bruggemann/Bohmer as plate 1, changed hands for $7,100. (A similar piece at the Nagel auction house failed to sell.) Three 19th century Anatolian kilims in good condition were also sold below estimate. Lot 429, a Yuncu kilim (see Frauenknecht, pl. 13), fetched $5,100. Among the usual Turkoman offerings a Chodor ensi, lot 516, similar to Rippon Boswell's star lot 132 and attributed to the Arabachi, was a late piece. Estimated at $5,500 to $6,300, it sold for $7,100. Of the 35 Caucasian rugs, none sold above $8,000.
The sale began at three o'clock with 150 to 180 attending, mainly collectors and fewer well known dealers than previously, and there were many left bids on the auctioneer's table. No rug of interest was priced below $8,000. Of those attending, one third were actual bidders; the rest had two hours of entertainment. Ten, mostly dealers, were on the telephone and there were about 35 left bid numbers.
An Ersari main carpet with two variants of the dyrnak gul (see McMullan, pl. 133) sold to the telephone at $17,300, $3,200 below its estimate of $20,500. An Ak-Su Salor juval in excellent condition and colors, lot 42, went for $10,200, while lot 43, a three turret gul Salor juval, brought $7,900. Lot 54, an antique Senneh kilim (see A.D. Jenkins, Vol. 1, pl. 31), was sold to a commission bid at $16,500. The first major Caucasian, lot 59, a Shirvan prayer rug, part silk and camel wool and a beautiful "double bird's head" main border failed to sell at $29,000.
All tentbands were sold. Lot 64, a Yomud band, was sold to the telephone at $11,000. Lot 65, a Saryq tentband, went to the room for $9,500, and a third Tekke tentband to the buyer of the previous lot for $11,800.
The next great Caucasian rug, lot 97, the grandfather of Nagel's lot 296, has already been mentioned as it was bought by a German collector at $39,400. One of the stars of the show was lot 108, the Salor ensi in bright colors and excellent design. Two bidders in the room fought against the telephone which remained successful at $157,400 (200,000 Deutschemarks). The buyer of lot 97 also won a battle for lot 123, a Marasali prayer rug on silk foundation; dated 1803, it had a red ground with concentric lozenges and characteristic mihrab. The hammer went down at $39,400.
The next important piece of the sale was an Arabachi ensi (was it a Chodor?), lot 132, price on request. The bidding went quickly to $75,000, but it ended up as a provisional sale. There were two rare, early 19th century Beshir prayer rugs; the piece on the front cover (lot 92) caused a fight between two telephones. A London dealer in the room was successful at $86,600 with lot 157, an 18th century Bergama rug of the 2-1-2 medallion type on bright red ground in very good condition (see Eskenazi, pl. 2).
 | A London dealer in the room was successful at $86,600 with lot 157, an 18th century Bergama rug of the 2-1-2 medallion type on bright red ground in very good condition |
At that point, three very interesting pieces were left and expectations concentrated on them. Lot 166, a little Kazak prayer rug with a green ground floating a Fachralo medallion and field design, had a short and sweet struggle between the room and the telephone, which again proved to be the winner at $30,700 (estimate $14,200). The real star, however, was lot 168, the 18th century white ground asmalyk, which might have been a sister to J. Thompson's plate 100 in Carpet Magic. Due to left bids, the bidding started at 120,000 Deutschemarks; a happy German collector walked away with it at 200,000 Deutschemarks ($157,400). Tension then eased and the last big fish, a Northwest Persian blossom carpet, lot 174, woven in the second half of the 18th century (see McMullan pl. 27), sold to the room provisionally at $70,800 (estimated price on request).
Rippon Boswell had one of its best collections, if not the finest, at this sale. Of the 210 lots offered, 34 went unsold (16%), 48 were provisional sales (after-sale sales, 27%), and 128 (57%) sold at hammer. Results must have been disappointing to the Maltzahns, but that was certainly offset by the new record prices for the Salor ensi and Saryq juval, not to mention the substantial amounts paid for other lots.
After the price rises of the roaring '70s and '80s, these sales appear to indicate that the market for collector rugs faces a more quiet development in the early '90s. To develop real strength, the market needs an influx of new buyers for the middle range pieces.
