A George III English Carpet, in the manner of Robert Adam, Axminster or Moorfields, circa 1780

with a central medallion with acanthus motif on a blue ground, and a surrounding ring of scrolling floral trails on a yellow ground, both divided by narrow borders of fluted stems with scrolling ribbon, set against a dark blue ground with baskets of flowers and foliate trails in each corner, and a small flowering sprig motif in the centre of each side; with complimentary narrow outer border with fluted stem with entwined ribbon design

Ohan Berberyan, sold Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, January 28, 1960, lot 63.
Phillips of Hitchin, Hertfordshire
Marcel Esnaulst, Château-sur-Creuse, Aubusson
Sotheby's, New York, December 1993, lot 253; Property approved for deaccession by Boscobel Restoration, Inc., Garrison on the Hudson, New York

For illustration of this carpet, and the comparable example in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, (gift of the Lorimer family in memory of George Horace Lorimer) from Lansdowne House, see Alcouffe, Daniel, Great Carpets of the World, Paris, 1996, Galea-Blanc, Clothilde, Chp. IX, The Carpet in Great Britain, pp.293-294, pl.282 & 283.

Colours of the carpet are in reality softer and not so strident in appearance as in the catalogue image. The yellow in particularly is paler and more gentle in reality. Blue slightly too dark. As stated in the cataloguing the carpet is lacking the main outer border, and is reduced in size. The border is pieced and joined at each corner through the present outer narrow outer border, visible on close inspection. There is irregularity to the join at one corner, visible as the bottom left corner in the catalogue image (and on-line). There is a very small section of loose side cord in the outer selvedge on the right hand side, and a repaired cut across the border on the opposing side. Hessian and hoops have been attached along one end (top end in the photograph). There are areas of reweaving and repiling, for example to the blue ground in the main field, near the edges between the baskets of flowers and sprays, close to the border along the lower and right hand sides of the photograph orientation, and repairs in areas of the yellow ground in central medallion scattered throughout. There is subtle abrash across the blue ground. The pile is generally 2mm overall. There are some areas of lower pile, for example in areas of the yellow of central medallion. Very minor losses within the floral bouquets. The restoration has been well executed and the carpet is stable and ready to use. The drawing and design are balanced and have been finely executed. The detailing to the flowers and baskets delicately worked in each corner, and through the scrolling trails within the medallion. The size is versatile for placing. This is a charming carpet with elegant composition and colouring.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The design of the carpet offered here clearly reflects the interior, and more specifically, ceiling decorations designed by Robert Adam for English homes in the second half of the 18th century. This design is shared with four other known English carpets all now in Museum collections; one in the Lansdown Room of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; two in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; and another in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (see Jacobs, Bertram, Axminster Carpets, Leigh-on-Sea, 1970, pls.52, 53, 54 & 55). While the design of these five carpets is practically identical, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Metropolitan Museum examples share a dark blue ground with the present carpet, whereas the two examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum have a light field. As with their French Savonnerie contemporaries, most the carpets here cited are fragmentary, undoubtedly having been reduced in size to fit smaller rooms at a later time.

All four carpets cited, together with the present example, exhibit the same pattern of a central roundel with a radiating acanthus within a pale circular frame where a lush floral garland interlaces with a delicate sheaf, in turn flanked by baskets issuing bouquets at the corners spaced by rose sprays. This combination of classical motifs with a naturalistic rendering of flowers is typical of the designs for which Robert Adam was famously recognised.

Thomas Moore of Chiswell Street, in the Moorfields, London (1752) and Thomas Whitty of Axminster (1755) were the major carpet workshops in England during the second half of the 18th century and both produced carpets from designs by the Adam Brothers. Whether or not the present carpet and cited examples were woven at Moorfields or Axminster remains uncertain. The Metropolitan Museum of Art attributes its carpet to `probably Axminster' (see Standen, Edith Appleton, `A Light and Elegant Ornament', Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol.16, March 1958, pp.204-207), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art attributes it's to Moorfields. Thomas Moore and Robert Adam were friends and therefore Adam often referred clients to Moorfields for the manufacture of carpets from his designs. The carpets woven at Moorfields were of a finer weave and thus more time consuming and more expensive than those woven at Axminster (see Jacobs, op.cit.pg.30). It appears that the Axminster workshop was more prolific, undoubtedly receiving more commissions due to their lower cost. It was also more typical of Axminster to produce more than one carpet from the same design if it found favour with patrons. That there are five known examples of the present design may suggest that these carpets were woven at Axminster. However, considering that Robert Adam was closer to Thomas Moore, all of these carpets could have been manufactured at Moorfields. As there is a lack of documentation from the period, it is not possible to attribute these carpets more specifically.

English carpets from the 18th century rarely appear on the market, and the carpet offered here remains a true reflection of the elegance favoured by Adam and his contemporaries.