Tag Archives: PGNY

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!

 

PGNY on Instagram, and Our Susan G. Komen Posts for October

Persian Gallery New York is now on Instagram! Follow us and check out our photos:

https://instagram.com/pgny_antique_carpetrugtapestry/  

In this month of October, our first several posts on the ultra-popular social media platform have covered our collaboration with Polo Ralph Lauren, which was detailed in our previous blog post (see this link):

http://pgny.com/blog/persian-gallery-new-yorks-antique-tapestries-appearing-in-the-window-displays-for-polo-ralph-lauren/

as well as calling attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the great work of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  In honor of Susan G. Komen and their “think pink” hashtag, we’ve posted the images of the following rugs on Instagram throughout the month of October, with the common theme of all of these rugs being their pink accents and color tones.  The images are all collected below, and in several cases, show the beautiful contrast between the iconic pink ribbon of Susan G. Komen with the more masculine, tribal or geometric designs of some of these carpets.  Check out these beautiful rugs, join us on Instagram, and make a donation to Susan G. Komen!

24806 (detail 4) 31676 (detail 4)

28565 (detail 3) 29297 (detail 4)  31696 (detail 5) 31703 (detail 5)

31708 (detail 3)

27080 (detail 5)

31701 (detail 4)

 

Persian Gallery New York’s Antique Tapestries Appearing in the Window Displays for Polo Ralph Lauren

Persian Gallery New York is proud to announce that several of our period and antique European tapestries are being showcased in the window displays of Polo Ralph Lauren! Polo Ralph Lauren is one of the most influential and enduring design brands throughout the U.S. and beyond, and we are happy to partner with them for these amazing autumn displays! These displays combine the classic and sophisticated aesthetic of Ralph Lauren, with the timeless verdant designs and color combinations of our antique tapestries. The perfect confluence of the two aesthetics points to a resurgence of the antique tapestry in the world of modern design.

The following PGNY antique tapestries are being displayed at the Ralph Lauren locations indicated below. We invite you to visit these Polo Ralph Lauren store locations in New York and Connecticut, and send us your selfies with our antique tapestries! We will also soon be announcing a unique opportunity to purchase these tapestries after they come out of the Ralph Lauren window displays! Keep posted to the PGNY Rug Blog for more information!

New York City – Upper East Side

Polo Ralph Lauren
888 Madison Avenue at 72nd Street
PGNY #26859   17th Century French Landscape Tapestry   9’7″H x 8’3″W
www.pgny.com/item26859 

 26859 (pro)    Ralph Lauren - 2015 (NYC) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 26859
(Editor’s note: This display came down shortly before this blog went live)

 

Long Island, New York – The Americana at Manhasset

Polo Ralph Lauren

1970 Northern Boulevard, at the Americana Manhasset
PGNY #23863   19th Century French Game Park Tapestry   7’2″H x 7’5″W
 23863 (pro)   Ralph Lauren - 2015 (Manhasset) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 23863 (preliminary)
PGNY #31331   18th Century Flemish Verdure Tapestry   6’9″H x 8’5″W
31331 (8MP) Ralph Lauren - 2015 (Manhasset) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 31331 (preliminary)

Greenwich, Connecticut

Polo Ralph Lauren
265 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich CT
PGNY #29222     17th Century Flemish Verdure Tapestry   7’2″H x 4’0″W
29222 (4MP) Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 29222 (preliminary)
PGNY #31104     18th Century Flemish Verdure Tapestry   8’0″H x 4’6″W
31104 (8MP) Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 31104 (preliminary)
Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Greenwich Store All Window Displays
 Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 29222 (final)  Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Greenwich Store Right Side Window Displays
Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Window Display with PGNY Tapestry 31104 (final)  Ralph Lauren - 2015 (CT) - Greenwich Store Left Side Window Displays

Antique Tapestries with Bathing Women, and the Myth of Callisto

In an article featured in the New York Times‘ Art section this past week, the writer details an art exhibition currently taking place in the Musee Marmottan Monet in Paris, entitled “La Toilette: The Birth of Privacy.”  The exhibition focuses on the way women’s bathing and toileting rituals have been historically depicted in classical European works of art, and what that reflects about the progression from bathing having been done public to bathing being done in private.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/arts/design/la-toilette-art-show-explores-womens-bathing-rituals-through-history.html?_r=0

The exhibition displays numerous works of art, including many antique tapestries, like this one:

Paris Art Exhibit Tapestry

The exhibition shows how, lacking the modern convenience of indoor plumbing and instant access to water, bathing was something done very seldom, and when done, was done only by the wealthy.  When wealthy women bathed, they were in the company of several attendants and/or ladies in waiting, making what we think of now as a most private of grooming acts a rather communal or public event, and one in which the form of the bathing female was exposed to the eyes of all those around her.  No matter how banal a ritual bathing can be, one can surely see the undercurrent of eroticism and voyeurism in such communal baths of the otherwise hard to access female elite.

This same undercurrent of eroticism and voyeurism can be detected in many classic tales from Greco-Roman mythology, and in particular, the myths chronicled in Ovid’s Metamorphoses.  In many of Ovid’s tales, a female figure pursued by a god or a satyr is transformed into a different form, often involving her contact with or pursuit through a body of water.

Case in point, let’s take a look at the myth of Callisto.  Callisto was one of the female attendants of the goddess of the hunt, Diana (aka- Artemis).  Diana and her attendants would regularly go on hunts of wild animals, and after their hunts, they would all bathe together communally in a nearby stream.  Callisto was one of Diana’s most loyal attendants, and was renowned for her vows of chastity.  As the story goes, Zeus, the king of all the Greco-Roman gods, and father to Diana, was renowned for his wanderlust, and was constantly chasing different women, both goddesses and mortals.  In this myth, Zeus seduces Callisto, and they have a torrid affair.  Soon thereafter, Diana learns of Callisto’s betrayal of her vow of chastity, committed with Diana’s father, Zeus.  She is furious, and after a hunt one day, Callisto’s shame is exposed during the communal bath.

This exact moment is captured in one of our antique tapestries:

http://www.pgny.com/item26032

26032 (pro)

In the moment that is depicted in this tapestry, we see Diana and the other attendants and nymphs exposing the shame of Callisto, not only in the sense of revealing the sordid details of her affair, but also in the physical sense of pointing out and shaming Callisto’s nude form in the midst of what was until then a sorority’s communal bath.  We, the viewers, almost become complicit in the shaming, and we see again the undercurrent of eroticism and voyeurism that is chronicled in the aforementioned exhibit in Paris.

The myth goes on, of course, and Callisto is metamorphosed into a bear by Zeus in a vain attempt to hide away his misdeed from his furious wife, Hera.  Diana, being the huntress, ends up killing the she-bear Callisto during a subsequent hunt, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, slays her former confidante, despite Zeus’ attempts to conceal their affair.  Zeus metamorphoses the dead she-bear Callisto again, sending her into the heavens by transforming her into the constellation Ursa Major, ie- The Great Bear.

What we can take away from this is that the depiction of the bathing female, and the underlying prurience that goes along with it, was not limited to artistic renderings of privileged females in mid-millennium Europe, but is deeply rooted in story-telling that dates back to Ancient Greece.  Concomitant with the renderings of the bathing female is the voyeuristic undercurrent we’ve discussed in this blog post, which can be seen from many different angles and points of view, but also must be seen to exist.

The lovely antique Franco-Flemish tapestry displayed above is an exquisite example of this, and is now available for sale online for the very first time.  You can bring this piece of history home today via Persian Gallery New York‘s store at First Dibs!

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/tapestry/antique-18th-century-franco-flemish-mythological-tapestry/id-f_2572812/

Happy Holidays from PGNY.com!

Wishing all our clients, colleagues, and friends out there Happy Holidays!  Last weekend saw the beginning of the Passover holiday, as well as Easter.  The Passover holiday concludes this weekend, with tomorrow, Friday 4/10 being part of the holiday, and our showroom being closed in observance.  This Sunday brings Orthodox Easter.  And to round it all out, many schools have been closed this past week for Spring Break, which for beleaguered and overworked student, is truly a holy occasion!  All in all, it’s a week of rest, family togetherness, spirituality, and religious observance.

And for those who religiously observe the happenings in the PGNY Rug Blog, you can find many of our antique oriental rugs and period European tapestries available for sale that will make you say “Holy Moly!

Check out our online offerings of antique Persian and Turkish carpets, antique and period European tapestries, a fine Suzani textile, and some rare vintage pillows on the following sites:

Happy holidays again from all of us here at PGNY.com, and visit us religiously here on the PGNY Rug Blog!

 

PGNY Adding Casino Gambling to Its Antique Rug Showroom!

The area rug industry has been abuzz about all the recent news coming from the showroom of Persian Gallery New York, with our partnerships with both First Dibs and One Kings Lane, but PGNY’s latest announcement is going to be perhaps the biggest news story of the year!

There has been much made in recent months over the attempts by lawmakers in New York to allow casino gambling to be brought to the city, so as to bring in revenue that would otherwise go to the casinos in Atlantic City, Connecticut, Las Vegas, and beyond.  The Resort World Casino (or “racino”) in Queens is a proven money maker, but only offers video slots, and no real table games as in a full, traditional casino, leaving NYC without any true, full scale casino offerings.

Now, Persian Gallery New York is proud to announce that we are branching out beyond our industry-leading inventory of antique oriental rugs, old Persian carpets, and period and antique European tapestries, and expanding our showroom to include a full scale casino, complete with table games!  This is a game-changer if there ever was one!

After much negotiation, the city legislature has given us the rare and distinct privilege of being the first entity to bring casino gambling to mid-town Manhattan, but on the condition that we integrate and incorporate it into our main business, selling the world’s best antique decorative carpets and tapestries.

As such, we have arrived at a mutually agreeable solution; depending on the dollar amounts at stake in the various table games in our new hybrid carpet showroom and casino (“carp-sino”) will put our incredible rugs and tapestries at stake for table game results at given times throughout the day!  You can play Let It Ride, and ride away with a beautiful Tabriz carpet!  You can play Pai Gow, and fly away with an Art Deco Chinese rug!  The possibilities are endless!

Oh, and we must add, APRIL FOOL’S!!!!

We hope you enjoyed this bit of April Fool’s levity, and that you will browse our site for the world’s best selection of antique and vintage decorative carpets, old oriental rugs, and antique tapestries!  Happy holidays to our colleagues, clients, and friends celebrating Easter and Passover!

 

 

Antique European Tapestries – An Essential and Undervalued Art

Last week, we announced that we have formed new partnerships with two online decor sales giants, First Dibs and One Kings Lane, to provide access to select items from our inventory of antique oriental rugs and antique European tapestries to our clients who want to shop online, and can’t necessarily make the trek out to our mid-Manhattan showroom.  Both sites are active, with many lovely vintage pillows currently posted on One Kings Lane, and much more on the way, and many fine old Persian carpets and period European tapestries posted on 1st Dibs.

This announcement was met with enthusiasm by many of our clients and colleagues, who had an especially tough time coming into NYC to visit us during the endless snow storms of this past winter season.  We have had a particularly strong response to our offerings of period and antique European tapestries, of which we have perhaps the biggest and best collection anywhere in the world.

One of our tapestries that has received a significant amount of attention is the palatial Death of Achilles tapestry, woven by Jan Raes, after cartoons by Peter Paul Rubens.  Wait a minute, did I just say a tapestry was made by Rubens?  Wasn’t Rubens an Artist, with a capital A, as in he made important, famous, paintings?  Why would a famous, important European painter be wasting his time making tapestries?  Who cares about tapestries?!?

To put it simply, a lot of people care about tapestries, and especially in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance in Europe, a lot of wealthy, important people cared about tapestries.  Tapestries were actually one of the main signifiers of wealth and power back in those days, much as luxury cars, yachts, and yes, paintings by Renaissance European masters are status symbols today.  Tapestries served multiple purposes, in that they were wall coverings for castles, keeping out drafty cold air and insulating the heat in the room; they were decorative art with historical, religious, mythological, or verdant themes, and they often contained symbols of the coat of arms of whichever king, duke, count, or other royalty possessed them.  They were woven of fine wool and silk, and often had silver, gold, and other metallic threads woven into them, as well, reflecting glints of light to help amplify the illumination in the room.

And because of their expensive, labor-intensive production, only the rich and powerful could afford them.  If you think about it, any large tapestry that would be commissioned would cost tons of money, as you needed to hire not any random weaver, but a famous master weaver to make it (hey, the rich and powerful wanted name brands just as much then as they do now), would have to pay for all the materials he would need (fine wool, silk, and silver and gold threads ain’t cheap), and have them embark on a weaving project that could last several years, depending on the size of the tapestry.  Not days, not weeks, not months, YEARS.  Imagine hiring your favorite fashion designer and asking him to sit in a room and weave something only for you, the way you specifically want it, for multiple years.  Not cheap!  Very expensive!!!  So only the rich and powerful could afford to have them.  Of course, like any highly valuable form of art, knockoffs and cheaper versions came into play in later centuries, but they could never touch the grandeur, the majesty, the complexity, and the beauty of the originals.

So getting back to our friend, Peter Paul Rubens, we ask, what was this famous Artist with a capital A doing making cartoons for a tapestry?  Making money, to be quite frank.  These tapestries were produced by commission, and paid for by wealthy patrons and/or royalty, as detailed above.  And to hire not only a master weaver like Jan Raes, but to have him work off of cartoons (a smaller drawing or “blueprint” which the weaver would work off of in making his tapestry) by a big name like Peter Paul Rubens, already deep into his career and his fame in early 17th century Brussels?  And to have him design not just one piece, but a series of pieces, all to be woven in enormous, palatial sizes with the finest of materials?  We’re talking some BIG BUCKS for good old Mr. Rubens and Mr. Raes.  Rubens drew the cartoon for this piece as part of his series on the Life and Death of Achilles, with our tapestry being the culmination of the series, and perhaps its most important work.

This all begs the question, if Peter Paul Rubens and other famous European Artists with a capital A worked not only on the paintings for which we now know them, but also on tapestries and other popular art forms of their era, why is it that tapestries, which were way more labor-intensive and costly to produce than paintings, are currently valued at so much less than paintings from that era?  If you look at Peter Paul Rubens’ Wikipedia profile, at the very end, it indicates that one of his paintings, the Massacre of the Innocents, sold at auction in 2002 for an astonishing $76.2 million.  Now that’s an Artist with a capital A!  Our masterful Death of Achilles tapestry is currently available for sale online, but at a teeny tiny fraction of that price.

If so much time and costly material went into the making of these fantastic antique tapestries, why don’t they currently enjoy the same cultural cache they once did, and why are they priced infinitessimally low compared to paintings by the same artists of the same era?

I would suggest that’s it’s a combination of factors.  Period tapestries still have more cache in Europe than they do in the U.S., as people there have grown up with them, have seen them in their original historical settings, and generally are more familiar with tapestries than we are here in the States.  Next, the more important tapestries from that era that are still extant (most were destroyed by water or fire) are mostly palatial in size, as they were literally used in palaces and castles.  Most people here either don’t have wall space large enough for these tapestries, and don’t necessarily have knowledge or interest in their weavers or their subjects.  For instance, we all know the name Peter Paul Rubens, mostly because of his paintings, but how many of us know Jan Raes, who actually wove the tapestry?  Paintings tend to be sized in a way that is easier to handle, and throughout the centuries, they have become arguably the most prestigious form of art, eclipsing other traditional forms like sculpture and tapestry, and exploding in value to the point where the most valuable paintings can be sold for upwards of $140 million!  Neither antique tapestries nor antique carpets can say the same, and while exceptional carpets and tapestries may fetch several million on a very good day, there’s still no comparison with what the top paintings will go for.

Proliferation, copies, and knock-offs have also been a help and hindrance, in that copies of paintings have become so ubiquitous that almost everybody can name at least a dozen of the most famous paintings, and probably has a copy or two in their homes.  Tapestries?  Not so much.  There are many reproduction tapestries out there today, and there have been for the last couple of centuries, but they never gained the foothold in the common household that paintings have.

This is what makes it such a great time to buy an antique tapestry, as they are relatively undervalued and underappreciated, and are an interactive, tactile art that you can touch and feel, unlike paintings.  Available for a fraction of the price of similar vintage paintings, antique tapestries can transport you to a world of many centuries ago, when they were woven for the elite, and when they lent a home warmth, beauty, and prestige.  Contact us today at info@pgny.com or shop at our website or our store at First Dibs, to find the perfect antique tapestry to bring warmth, beauty, history, and much more to your home!