First, none of you solved the riddle from last week re: design store for plutocrats. I’m disappointed. The prize was going to be a glass dining table.
Second, this week has admittedly skewed $$$. But prices are frothy right now and frankly, you were warned about your avocado toast habit back in 2017.
Third, a bunch of rugs this week. I read somewhere that Francis Bacon disavowed the (quite beautiful) rugs he designed as a teenager. Maybe just because it can be hard looking back at teenage work (I don’t feel this way—as boys’ hip hop dance captain, my work was exemplary). The rugs were certainly less self-serious than the paintings, but they betray influence in a way that’s kind of touching to see. We all start somewhere.
Anyway, I love rugs. They’re hard to design—the vantage point is always weird so they have to negotiate image in a funny way, and they have all these other constraints, many of them highly technical, particularly if they live on the floor. Art rugs are all also collaborative-bordering-on-someone-else-totally-made-this in way that’s interesting. Most of these won’t touch the floor (two can), but still a good design problem to consider.
As always:
Landed cost = hammer price + auction house premium + shipping
Email me. And I think the comments are open but maybe not? Post a comment and see.
Picasso Carpet
This one is fun. The colors are rich. Again, not Picasso toiling away at his loom by any means, but still beautiful.
Jacques-Henri Varichon ‘Galaxie’ armchair
One of these is currently on view at Demisch Danant in NY. Not cheap. Very nice. Incidentally, one of my sparrows sent me the Demisch Danant sales PDF for TEFAF with a Maria Pergay dining table. I don’t particularly like it. Circular, mixed metals in bands on the table top.
Prize to whomever guesses the price—Price is Right-style, don’t go over.
Art Deco Chinese Nichols Rug
Nichols rugs were made at the factories of an American, Walter Nichols in Tianjin beginning in 1924 (closed when the Japanese invaded, reopened, then closed when the communists took over). They range from looking more traditionally Chinese to more modernist; this is in between. I think the dyes here bled making the mottled teal patches on the field of peach (which is odd, given that color fastness was a main selling point). I like it! 9’x9’ also, so a nice size.
Roman Bust, Probably 3rd-5th Century CE
Why does she look like this?
Hal Melitzky Wood Turned Bowl
Bayne Peterson adjacent. Bayne’s a great guy; Hal I don’t know. Good bowl though.
Moon Over Mount Yoshino Edo period (1615-1868), late 17th/early 18th century
This has apparently been deaccessioned (AKA “sold”) by the Met. It would be incredible if you guys all banded together and bought this for me as a thank you for the hours I spend finding couches and coffee tables that you don’t bid on.
Hiram Williams Lithograph
Many of you think John Baldessari owns noses, but there’s room for two and this is from 1969. I think Baldessari started with the noses in the 50s (maybe burned in Cremation Project?). The images in my mind are super late—2000s, which is before I was even born [staring defiantly and delusionally at you]. Anyway, this is cool. And this is the Hiram Williams who wrote Notes for a Young Painter, which I have not read. Is it good?
Asger Jorn, Art Line Rug, La Fleur
This is an Axminster carpet (produced by Ege which is a Danish carpet manufacturer (still around, huge), so these get called some permutation of Ege Axminster Artline rugs/carpets. The Artline rugs were made as artist collaborations. Some of them are very cool. This one is fun, kind of Floridian in a nice way.
Le Corbusier Rug
This is merino wool, made by hand. It would be lovely hanging on a wall. There was a show about the Le Corbusier tapestries at Almine Rech in 2022 that I did not see. Shout out to staying at home.
Weird Mahogany Chair
Why does it look like this?
BONUS LAMP
Loetz, Phanomen lamp shade with Austrian peacock base
Rago has an Art Nouveau lamp auction that you simply must see (that sounded kind of . . . gay to me?). Needless to say [Suze Orman voice] Yoooooou can’t afford it. But a delight for the eyes <3
May the hammer fall ever in your favor.