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News Releases
Contact: Gary Tobin
Oakland, CA - February 12, 2008 Jan David Winitz, founder and president of Claremont Rug Company, today announced one of the most significant single acquisitions of art-level antique rugs from a private source in the past decade. The collection will be available, starting Saturday, February 23 at the Claremont Rug Company showroom in Oakland. The international investor and author said, “It feels like striking the Mother Lode. Many of the rugs are unique from any others that I have seen in my more than 30 years of investing. It is rare that a collection of this caliber becomes available and we were honored that it was offered to us.” The collection was acquired from a Wall Street financier who wishes to remain anonymous. His primary residence was in the Hudson River Valley in New York. “The range of carpets is astounding and was put together over a 50-year period,” Winitz said. “It contains extraordinary examples of all of the most important Near Eastern weaving styles from throughout the 19th century as well as some first-rate circa 1900 pieces.” Included in the more than 200 pieces is a 15x21 Tabriz masterwork from the workshops of renowned Hadji Jallili. “It is one of the finest examples from this central carpet designer that we have ever seen, and is in nearly perfect condition,” Winitz said. “We believe that it took a team of about 15 weavers upward of a decade to complete. It represents a monumental artistic and technical accomplishment.” Another piece of a magnitude that has not appeared on the international market in this generation is a 200-year Persian Bakshaish, measuring 12x19, with an early archetypal rendition of the important “Dragon and Phoenix” motif. Included in the collection are rare tribal rugs as well as village and classical carpets, including a “superbly preserved,” circa 1800 Karabagh from the Caucasian region with a one-in-the-world design and color palette. This 8x11 piece is also unusually large size for this style. A wide selection of the pieces will be displayed throughout Claremont’s three-showroom gallery. There will also be a special section with a sampling of the rugs available on Claremont’s website, (www.claremontrug.com). A world-recognized connoisseur and author, Winitz recently delivered two globally significant, invitation-only lectures about the rugs from the Caucasus Mountain region. “We have a truly singular position in the antique rug market,” Winitz said. “When divesting a life-long collection, connoisseurs are as interested in ensuring that the rugs are made available to other aficionados who will truly appreciate them as they are in the economic aspects of selling. For instance, in this case, knowing that we present rugs as works of art to a clientele of connoisseurs and lovers of beauty, the collector came to us exclusively. Now in his 80’s, the anonymous seller said, “the rugs in my collection are my dear old friends…my first desire is for them to go to people who will appreciate them and benefit from them as much as I have. “My late wife and I literally put them in every nook and cranny of my houses—on the walls, draped over banisters, on table tops, in pantries and dressing rooms,” he said. “We even draped several over furniture like in the old Dutch paintings.” Winitz, who maintains a substantial private collection of his own, said “if we didn’t maintain a strict policy of offering to our clients all the rugs that we acquire through the corporation, I would definitely keep a number of them for myself.” All of the rugs in the collection will be available for viewing and purchase, starting at 10 a.m. on the 23rd at the Claremont Rug Company, 6087 Claremont Avenue in Oakland. Additional information may be obtained at 1-800-441-1332 or on the gallery’s website (www.claremontrug.com).  About TOBIN & Associates TOBIN & Associates provides reputation management, corporate communications, strategic message development, public relations and marketing/brand building services. The office is located at 523 4th Street, Suite 206, San Rafael, CA 94901. Tobin can be reached at 415-256-9490 or via email at gptobin2003@yahoo.com. |