Antique Sultanabad Carpet, Persia

A fantastic Antique Sultanabad carpet, beautiful soft colours and floral motifs throughout the pale main field with a rather unusual soft green border. A fantastic carpet woven over 140 years ago in good condition.

Sultanabad carpets are very important in the history of weaving as Sultanabad was formally known as Arak which was once the capital of Persia in the 1800's. Famous carpets such as Ziegler were woven in Sultanabad by the company Ziegler & Co which produced open large floral designs for western tastes and thrived in the late 19th century exporting these carpets to the US and Europe.

In 1883, Ziegler and Co, of Manchester, England established a Persian carpet manufacture in Sultanabad Persia, which employed designers from major western department stores such as B. Altman & Co of New York and  Liberty, to modify 16th- and 17th-century Eastern designs for the more restrained western taste. Using highly developed dying techniques, and the best artisans from the region, the Ziegler Co created rugs with bold, all-over patterns  and with softer palettes than their vibrant Persian counterparts.

Ziegler rugs developed an almost immediate following, especially among early collectors included the Guinness family, who laid them in Elveden Hall, their  Suffolk estate. Ziegler carpets are one of the only types of Persian carpet which were influenced by western designs and have become one of the most sought after types of carpet.

We offer the service of viewing any of our carpets & rugs in-situ in London, Surrey, Hampshire the UK & Europe by appointment. Please contact us to arrange a convenient time to see it in our showroom or in your own home.

Farnham Antique Carpets are specialists in antique decorative carpets, rugs and runners. Varying from antique tribal rugs woven in the Caucasus to classical Persian carpets dating from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century.

As members of the BADA - The British Antique Dealers Association and LAPADA - The Association of Art & Antique Dealers we adhere to strict guide lines as affiliated members and pride ourselves on maintaining its high standards. We exhibit at the BADA fair in Chelsea, London every March and the LAPADA Fair in Mayfair, London every September.