To celebrate his 15th anniversary as a dealer in Oriental rugs, the indefatigable J. Peter Willborg staged an exhibition of 52 rugs, carpets, and textiles from Europe and Asia. The exhibition was hung at the renowned Heland Wetterling Gallery of Contemporary Art in the center of Stockholm from May 19 to June 14, 1995.
To commemorate the event, Willborg also published another fine rug book which is more than an exhibition catalogue. The pieces he chose for the exhibition and catalogue span the period from the 16th century up to the First World War and include three antique African sculptures. As all pieces except no. 20, a Borjalu rug, are for sale, a price list is included in the book.
| As all pieces except no. 20, a Borjalu rug, are for sale, a price list is included in the book. |
Rather unusual among them is a 120 lb., 6'9" wooden Lobi ladder, made of one carved beam with a bifurcation at the top; it was listed at $5,400. Ladders such as this are used by the Lobi tribe (residents of the borders of the Ivory Coast and Ghana) to lean against their huts, which stand on poles. Nagel's November auction offered a similar one (Lot 1309) from Togo/Benin. Your reviewer believes that, with European and Islamic rugs and textiles comprising such a wide field in which to play, our dear Peter should not diversify into new areas of folk art. In his first sentences in the book, Peter Willborg extends profound thanks to the weavers whose artistic aesthetic and weaving skills made the exhibition and book possible. These acknowledgements aside, the actual helpers and assistants are often overlooked. Thank you for your attentiveness.
In his introductory remarks, Peter Willborg stresses that, like most dealers and collectors, the focus of his interest has gradually changed over the years. While, in the beginning, age, origin, technical details, value, and history of the textile treasures he handled were paramount in his selections, now, though these attributes are still important, after handling thousands of rugs, Willborg's emphasis concentrates upon the unity of color, wool, and design "that sends chills down one's spine." The author's goal is to make the public aware of this art. Many more dealers should follow his lead.
Six European textiles led the procession of textile treasures. The first is a cushion cover in interlocked tapestry weave of unusual high weaving density, 50x46cm. Made before 1800 in southern Sweden and signed KOD (Kersti Olsdotter), it depicted birds and flowers on a green abrashed ground.
The second is a real shocker, a ($1,860) chamois cushion back with holes and stains which Peter Willborg was about to throw away "when it suddenly dawned on me that I had a fantastic work of art in front of me". This is certainly a very individual taste and, to this reviewer mind, a peculiar judgment.
No. 4 ($2,640) is a Rya rug, a specialty of Sweden and Finland. Measuring 148x182cm in size, its long furry pile, similar in kind and use as the Turkish tülü, is illustrated by its reverse indigo blue pile side. Some fading and wear render different shades of blue and a kind of dynamic which reminds the author of paintings by Mark Rothko. Rug gallery owner Herbert Ostler in Munich has also tried to find relations between abstract painters and rug patterns.
No. 5, a Mortlake tapestry ($107,000), was made in England in the first half of 17th century. It tells the story of Hero and Leander, the lover swimming over the Hellespont. Its provenance until 1937 places it in Berlin, thereafter in a Swedish collection.
A petit point tapestry (No. 6, 385x206) portrays scenes from the book of Moses. It was probably made in France around 1700. Twenty-three different colors were used. This is really a monumental work of art of its time (and, at $170,000, the highest priced of the exhibition). In the Anatolian section, the twin column mihrab Ottoman prayer rug, No. 7 ($64,000), had been previously published in Christie's London auction catalogue, April 1979, as Lot 22. There are many related pieces in museums all over the world.
A compartment or chessboard rug, No. 8, is dated to the 15th/16th century and is of the type well known from auctions and museums. It has been heavily repaired, with about 75 percent of its border replaced and a lot of the field, and is priced at $100,000. Your reviewer is a little more modest in his collecting habits and likes No. 9, a nice West Anatolian (or Melas) bag with a flap (Illustration 1) which J.P. Willborg found in the Stockholm market ($3,600).
Very good and typical examples of type are a Demirci Kula (ten great colors); an excellent Megri rug found in a Swedish warehouse, wrapped in a newspaper dated 1936 and untouched since ($25,000); a Ladik prayer rug, No. 13, dated first half 19th century, also found in the Stockholm market ($14,300).
An unusual rug from the Obruk area, No. 16, with an all wool foundation, offered a unique field pattern: on the outer portion, ascending blue hooks, in the center a green stem with hooks and within a similar pattern in red which may symbolize a tree of life. This collectible rug is priced at $13,600.
The palmette carpet, No. 17, circa 1700, has a wool foundation and symmetric knot at zero displacement. Willborg attributes it to either eastern Anatolia or northwest Persia, and he prefers the latter. Anyhow, its coloration (ten colors) and pattern make it a great carpet ($53,000).
With No. 18, a new name is introduced to Caucasian rugs. A runner type (355x93), dominated by its wide yellow Caucasian border pattern, very similar to Burns, p. 32, its field seems to be squeezed from both sides in a 4:1 arrangement of unusual, even-numbered, four medallions and small Memling guls, reminiscent of rugs of Kurdish origin. A friend of the author, an Armenian poet and rug researcher, instantaneously labeled it Mushi Dasht ($23,600). It has an all wool foundation of Z3S, in 12 colors, with a floppy handle (530 knots per square decimeter).
Willborg's great Borjalu rug, No. 19, we have known since the 1993 ICOC in Hamburg; it is priced $40,000. But the little (145x65cm) Borjalu rug, No. 20 (Illustration 2), is the only piece not for sale. It has 14 colors, warp Z3S, originally a pile height of 10 mm, now on an average of 6-7 mm. In the millennium to come, it certainly will be for sale.
Other Caucasians include a green ground, yellow bordered Karachoph, No. 21 ($30,000); two Fachralo prayer rugs (No. 23, very similar to the Topkapi Sarayi Museum, pl. 38.); the Mannerheim two-medallion Chelaberd, No. 24 (sold); an ugly Zakatala with harlequin pattern, No. 25, priced an amazing $21,500.
A yellow ground Kuba runner of Khirdagyd design was so absolutely symmetrical in field and borders that it looked like a machine-made rug though it is actually from the second third of the 19th century. It came from Christie's and J.P. Willborg is asking $33,600. An 18th century Azerbaijan carpet offers palmettes, flowers, and urns within a grid-like system of diagonal vines. Horror vacuii inspired the weaver to fill all the space in between with typical Caucasian motifs. A more regular yellow border creates a quiet surrounding ($100,000).
. A Shahsavan jajim (No. 29) made of multi-colored narrow stripes, seven bright and clear warp-faced colors (308 warps/10 cm), 198x188cm, led the parade. The single stripes are not patterned, so the blanket reminded one of a polychrome bar code. It is priced at $2,600. Collectors should look more closely to jajims, otherwise more of these pieces will be taken apart for restoration purposes.
It is not possible to mention all the good rugs and bags from Kurdish tribes, all second half of the 19th century. There are four town rugs: a silk Tabriz (No. 34) with the well known mixture of hunting pattern and Indian vaq vaq (talking heads) arranged around a tree ($50,000); a square Heriz from the turn of the century with a traditional pattern (No. 35, $50,000); a Bijar (No. 36, $69,000); and a Kashan prayer rug with an ivory mihrab field of a tree, birds, fruit, butterflies and at the top a poem by Hafez (No. 43, $17,900).
No. 40, a Senneh kilim, has offset rows of botehs on a blue ground; it can be compared to No. 10 and 11 in the Jenkins collection.
For its simplicity your reviewer likes No. 42, a Hamadan-type rug, called Zarand by Mr. Willborg. Its narrow night blue field depicts a tree with alternating branches to both sides of blossoms and birds facing each other ($3,500).
The Arabi Khamseh, (No. 45), is a rare example and is priced at $6,400.
The Arabi Khamseh, (No. 45), is a rare example and is priced at $6,400. |  |
Textile Treasures offers only three Turkoman pieces: an Ersari juval of widely spaced main gul and dyrnak secondary gul (No. 50, $12,100); a Beshir carpet with gaimak-göl from the mid 19th century ($31,000); and, finally, an easily attributable Nurata suzani, $9,700, first half of 19th century, incompletely executed.
The exhibition and its catalogue eloquently illustrate Peter Willborg's increased efforts to make his Swedish gallery an internationally recognized institution. Without doubt, the antique rug collectors' world owe him a debt of gratitude and attention for his perseverance and dedication to the textile art form in these presently uneasy times.
Textile Treasures, a catalogue of the exhibition by the same name, contains 150 pages and illustrates 52 pieces. It can be ordered from J.P. Willborg Antique Rugs, Sibyllegatan 41, S.114 42 Stockholm, Sweden. It is priced US$100 (airmail USA), US$75 (surface mail Europe), credit card orders only. There are some issues with misprints in some plates available for half the price.
Herbert J. Exner, reviewer
