Austria Auction Company in Vienna will hold its 'Masterpieces III' sale on 14 February, featuring forty high quality antique rugs and textiles from private European collections. The lots can be previewed from 11–13 February from 11am–5pm and on 14 February from 11am–4pm. Here are some highlights.
A striking Tibetan 'Tiger Rug', dating to around 1900, is a standout lot. Depicting a tiger on tiger skin, this piece is truly unique. The imagery suggests that the animal has just slashed at something: the extended claw marks and the open mouth clearly evoke an act of attack. At the same time, the ‘splashes’ on the three lines are blue rather than blood-red. The wide, staring eyes, protruding tongue and bushy eyebrows rendered in a distinctive ‘pepper-and-salt' palette further heighten the sense of ferocity. Overall, this is a highly expressive work whose design is virtually without parallel, even within the already exceptionally rare group of tiger rugs.
Tibet Tiger Rug, Tibet, ca. 1900. 171 x 102 cm. Starting price €4000 (lot 6)
Another highlight of the sale is a 17th-century West Anatolian 'double-keyhole' rug from Turkey. Only four other examples of this remarkable carpet are known to exist. The first publication of one such example can be found in HALI 5/2, p.168. The famous dealer, Davide Halevim, exhibited it at the Venice Biennale in 1982. Seventeen years later, this piece was shown by David Sorgato at ICOC IX in Milan, HALI 105, page 157.
