The London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA) returns to the mezzanine of the Winter Fair in January 2025. LARTA is the annual gathering of London’s only specialist event for fine antique textile art, antique carpets, vintage rugs and associated works of art. This boutique event is frequented by collectors and interior designers, as well as discerning members of the public.
Taking place for the 13th year in succession, LARTA 2025 has some exciting new exhibitors amongst the many specialist dealers returning to exhibit.
Keeping interior design buyers and textile collectors happy will be Marilyn Garrow Fine Textile Art with a wide variety of antique silks and decorative pieces. She returns alongside new exhibitor Junnaa & Thomi Wroblewski Ltd, the latter with a desirable mix of textiles from 19th French portrait tapestries to an Armenian 18th/19th century embroidery produced for the Ottoman Empire.
Gallery Zadah is a new exhibitor, with antique rugs and carpets, Persian carpets, antique textiles and fine European tapestries, including an Ottoman embroidery from the Balkans, circa 1800, as is Thames Carpets. Run by father and daughter duo Bahram and Sophie Javadi-Babreh they debut with a wide range from inexpensive mid-century Turkish rugs to important highlights of a late 19th century Kazak Karachopf rug priced at £18,000 and a handmade mid-century Wilton wool rug believed to have been designed by British artist John Piper, retailing for £8,000.
Gallery Zadah, Ottoman embroidery, Balkans, circa 1800 (120cm x 120cm)
James Cohen, detail from one of a pair of 18th century Greek island embroideries, Epirus
James Cohen will have an impressive selection of sizeable Persian carpets, as well as textiles including a pair of 18th century Greek island embroideries from the Epirus region, silk on linen, priced around £8,000 the pair. Phil Bell Antique Oriental Rugs exhibits a selection of antique Persian, Turkish, Caucasian and Turkoman rugs and decorative accessories, and Gideon Hatch brings contemporary hand-knotted designer rugs woven in Tibet.
Gideon Hatch, Mambo No. 1 contemporary designer rug (2.5m x 2m)
Returning debuts from LARTA 2024 include Textile Antiques with a 17th century green silk velvet piece, embroidered with silk and gilt paper-wrapped thread and couched silk thread, closely related to a hanging or coverlet in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, also a pair of 19th century appliqué quilts by twin sisters Jane Ann Curry (1869-1950) and Mary Elizabeth Curry (1869-1928), each made to the same pattern using joined panels and appliquéd cut pieces of printed and plain cotton. Jenny Hicks Beach first exhibited at LARTA last January and returns with a selection of kilims and textiles, sought after by her interior design clientele.
Textile Antiques, a panel of opus anglicanum, England, circa 1475-1500 (34.5cm x 50.6cm)
Highlights from founder and fair organiser Aaron Nejad Gallery include a Shahsavan Soumac bagface from Caucasus, circa 1870, £1,000, and an exceptional silk embroidered Uratube Suzani from Uzbekistan, dating to around 1840; clearly made as a dowry gift, it is priced £13,500. Exhibitors 20th Century Modern includes French ‘Oiseaux’, an Aubusson tapestry designed by Monique Brix, one of a limited edition of five, selling for £2,400, and a fine Ewe ‘Kente’ cotton cloth from Ghana, woven on a handloom, priced at £1,250.
Aaron Nejad Gallery, Silk Kashan rug, Central Persia, circa 1920 (2.03m x 1.30m)
Markus Voigt, Chinese Ningxia dragon carpet, 19th century (229 x 123 cm)
Two returning European exhibitors are also textile connoisseurs. Markus Voigt from Achdorf in Germany brings a 19th century Chinese Ningxia column dragon carpet, made for a Buddhist monastery at £6,800, and an early 18th century Gujarati silk on chintz embroidery, so finely embroidered observers might think it was printed, £5,800. Villa Rosemaine returns from France with lavish and simple antique and vintage costumes, textiles and trappings, amongst which is a French Marquis d’Aligre court embroidered velvet suit, Premier Empire period, dating to 1810-1820.
Thames Carpets, a patchwork runner made by Thames Carpets using patches from a 19th century Heriz carpet, NW Persia (385cm x 72cm)
Launched in 2011, the LARTA fair is an important date for decorators, collectors and discerning buyers looking for both collectible and decorative rugs and textiles. The expert dealers are offering items originating from Persia, India, China, Japan, Central Asia, Anatolia and the Caucasus, as well as from Europe, Africa and the Americas. As many interior decorators begin their room designs from the floor up, this extensive resource is a welcome addition to the offering at Battersea from 21-26 January 2025.
You can read more about the Fair at larta.net.
