Tag Archives: bargain

Are Antique Rugs and Tapestries a Thing of the Past?

The antique rug and tapestry trade has always had a special place in the heart of buyers who appreciate the artistry and skill required to hand-weave these amazing pieces.  Interior designers have traditionally started the design of any given living or dining room with the centerpiece that ties everything together, the oriental rug, and have based their other color and design choices on the antique carpet‘s colors and motifs.

Over the last two decades, the antique rug trade has gained quite a bit of competition from new rugs, with some new rugs being reproductions of antique rug designs, others veering away from traditional colors and motifs and embracing a modern and contemporary look, and yet others being custom made to the buyer’s specifications.  New rugs have become so plentiful and so omnipresent, that for many buyers, they have supplanted the antique rug as the floor covering of choice, both because of their relatively lower price points and their vast flexibility in size, color, and design.

With the growing popularity of new rugs, have antique rugs and tapestries become a thing of the past?  Is the antique rug industry slowly vanishing into irrelevance, with the new rug industry taking its place?

While competition with new rugs can be intense, the antique rug industry is still going strong, and we still see a lot of life left in these century old floor coverings and wall hangings.

For a certain set of buyers, new rugs, while plentiful and relatively inexpensive, will never match the artistry or mastery of their antique hand-knotted ancestors.  Hand-made antique rugs have a certain cache, a certain prestige, and a certain patina of age and authenticity that can never be fully replicated or replaced with a new rug.  They retain their value, unlike new rugs, and are a traditional investment that holds up with time.  The people who have grown up with antique rugs and tapestries in their households generally have an added appreciation for this most tactile and interactive of art forms, and want to carry on the tradition of owning an antique rug, and passing it on to the next generation.

In recent years, we have been fortunate to be able to connect with many more such buyers who appreciate antique rugs, and find them across the U.S. and internationally, thanks in part to our presence on the internet, and our offerings on various selling platforms, including 1st Dibs, One Kings Lane, and Houzz.  The immediacy of the internet, mobile phones, and online sales has made the world a much smaller place, so to speak, with people able to find products they are passionate about with just a few clicks.

In addition to online connectivity, we are seeing a return of traditional oriental rug designs to every day popularity, with them appearing in fashion, clothing designs, fabrics, and furnitureWhat’s old is new again, and it looks like antique carpet colors and motifs are on the next fashion cycle back into the mainstream.  We at Persian Gallery New York are happy to provide the best selection of antique decorative carpets and classic oriental rugs to meet the rising demand!

As for antique tapestries, it seems that they, like antique rugs, are also headed back into the mainstream spotlight.  Antique tapestries from the French “Sun King,” Louis XIV are being showcased in Los Angeles now, with this being the first such major show there in nearly forty years:

The Sun King’s Tapestries

With so much renewed interest in antique rugs and tapestries, and the new fashion cycle headed back toward traditional oriental rug colors and motifs, it seems that the forecasts of the antique industry’s demise are quite premature!  If a fine wine gets better with age, then image how much better an antique rug or tapestry will be as it grows with you over the years in your home, and connects your family to its next generation!

It’s the End of the Iran Sanctions Act, and a Great Time to Buy Antique Rugs

This past week, the United States officially ended the Iran Sanctions Act, which was the measure banning trade with Iran, and forbidding the import and export of Iranian goods in and out of the U.S.  This act was part of a series of sanctions put into place over the last few years by the U.S. in an attempt to ratchet up pressure on Iran, so that Iran would comply with nuclear inspections and other limitations on its much debated nuclear program.  Now that the U.S. and Iran have reached a nuclear accord, and Iran has ostensibly complied with the restrictions on its nuclear program, the import and export of Iranian goods is going to resume.

At Persian Gallery New York, we deal primarily in antique decorative carpets, classic oriental rugs, and period European tapestries.  While we feature a section of New Reproduction rugs on our website, we do not do any importing of rugs from Iran.  The vast majority of rugs in our inventory were imported to the U.S. decades ago.  Despite the fact that our rugs are antiques, and have not been in or around Iran in decades, their import and export was somehow still part of the embargo, just because of the rugs’ Iranian origin.

This wide ranging embargo caused some difficulties for the antique rug industry, as for the past several years, we were unable to make our classic rugs available to our clientele overseas.  Now that the import and export of antique rugs is resuming with the end of the embargo, it’s a great time for our clients to buy antique rugs, at the same great prices, despite higher demand, whether domestically here in the U.S., or overseas in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and beyond.

Here in New York, and elsewhere on the East Coast of the U.S., a huge snow storm is expected to arrive some time tonight or tomorrow.  As such, people will likely be off the streets, and nestled safely in their homes.  If you find yourself snowbound at home, sipping some hot chocolate, and thinking of what kind of decor can warm up your home, browse our industry-leading selection of antique Persian carpets!  Many of our rugs are available in our brand new Buy It Now section, or you can visit our Links page to connect to our stores on 1st Dibs, One Kings Lane, and Houzz.  You can also check out our PGNY Outlet, from which you can e-mail or call us with inquiries about how to find the best antique rugs and Persian carpets for your home!

PGNY Starts the New Year with A Special Sale on Its Ralph Lauren Tapestries

Happy New Year from Persian Gallery New York!  We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and we are excited to kick off 2016 with some major happenings here at PGNY, New York City’s best source for antique decorative carpets, classic oriental rugs, vintage pillows, and period European tapestries.

There’s a lot of NEW in the works in the New Year here at PGNY, with hundreds of antique rugs and tapestries being added to the website in the coming weeks, updates to the look and feel of our website, and more robust social media offerings, including Instagram, Pinterest, and Houzz.  Keep an eye peeled for detailed updates about all of these things here in future PGNY Rug Blog posts.

Today’s news, however, harkens back to two of our biggest news stories from 2015, and pushes them into a bold new direction for the New Year.  In 2015, we reported that Persian Gallery New York had joined 1stDibs.com, the ultra popular online resource for the finest offerings in art, furniture, and decor.   We also reported that a number of PGNY’s antique tapestries were being displayed in the windows of several prominent Ralph Lauren stores in New York and in Connecticut.

We are proud to announce that those two PGNY news events from last year are converging, and that we are now offering the antique tapestries that were displayed in the Ralph Lauren windows for sale directly through 1stDibs.com!

Follow the links below for more information about each of the four antique European tapestries that are a part of this special sale event, and follow the links to the 1st Dibs shopping cart, so you can purchase these incredible wall hangings right from your computer, tablet, or phone!  Now, from the comfort of your home, you can buy these rare period tapestries, and greatly enhance your home decor, all with a few clicks!  We look forward to hearing your feedback, and feel free to contact us directly with your inquiries, questions, or comments!

 

Item # 23863 French Game Park Tapestry 7’2″ H x 7’5″ W

23863 (pro)      Ralph Lauren - 2015 (NYC) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 26859

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/tapestry/antique-19th-century-french-fox-hunt-tapestry-from-ralph-lauren-window-display/id-f_2300492/

 

Item # 29222 Flemish Verdure Landscape Tapestry 7’2″ H x 4’0″ W

29222 (overhead) Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 29222 (final)

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/tapestry/antique-17th-century-flemish-verdure-tapestry-from-ralph-lauren-window-display/id-f_3829612/

 

Item # 31104 Flemish Verdure Tapestry 8’0″ H x 4’6″ W

31104 (overhead) Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 31104 (final)

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/tapestry/antique-18th-century-flemish-verdure-tapestry-from-ralph-lauren-window-display/id-f_3829192/

 

Item # 31331 Flemish Verdure Landscape Tapestry 6’9″ H x 8’5″ W

31331 (overhead) Ralph Lauren - 2015 (Manhasset) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 31331 (preliminary)

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/tapestry/antique-18th-century-flemish-verdure-tapestry-from-ralph-lauren-window-display/id-f_3828932/

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving, and Black Friday Deals!

From all of us here at Persian Gallery New York, we wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving!  Of course, as Thanksgiving ends (or even before!), Black Friday begins, with shoppers getting major discounts on all types of products both in store and online.  We are proud to announce that we now have more items than ever before on sale, and available for purchase online, through the following portals:

PGNY on 1st Dibs:

https://www.1stdibs.com/dealers/persian-gallery-new-york

Currently on sale at 1st Dibs, we have a number of vintage decorative pillows, a variety of small size and room size antique oriental rugs and decorative carpets, many antique and period tapestries, and numerous other rugs and textiles in larger sizes.  Shopping cart available for immediate purchase, and some of the discounts have to be seen to be believed!

PGNY on One Kings Lane:

https://www.onekingslane.com/shop/pgny

Currently on sale on One Kings Lane is a unique pair of vintage decorative tapestry pillows, available with shopping cart for immediate purchase, at a price that’s almost too low to print!

The PGNY Outlet:

http://www.pgny.com/outlet

Our own hand-picked selection of antique, semi-antique, and vintage rugs, runners, textiles, and more, available in store with outrageous discounts!  Browse through the selection online, then contact us by e-mail or phone for availability, and to set up an in store viewing, or let us arrange shipping directly to you!

Check these three bargain hunter’s oases now, and check back daily for new additions and discounts!  Also, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and more for daily alerts as to what’s on sale, and where, by connecting with us on social media via our links page!

Happy thanksgiving, and have a safe, healthy, and happy Black Friday!  Remember that the best selection of antique decorative carpets, old oriental rugs, period tapestries, and vintage pillows is available with extreme discounts, just a few clicks away!  Happy shopping!