Preview Lot
A Significant Axminster CarpetEngland 22 ft. x 44 ft. 6 in.
4 – 14 August 2025, 12:00 EDT
Online, Skinner Marlborough, MassachusettsUS$10,000 - US$15,000
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A Significant Axminster Carpet
England
c. 1810, Thomas Whitty's carpet workshop, established in Axminster in 1755, reached its zenith in the period 1765-1790, when numerous commissions were received for many of the great houses of England. Many of these were designed by Robert Adam, often to reflect his neo-classical ceilings. The current carpet represents typical Regency in its use of bright colors and classical motifs.
This carpet used to be in the Banquet room of the Royal Pavilion of Brighton. It was purchased from a Mr. Pontremoli in 1948 by the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove as a replacement for the original Axminster carpet commissioned when the Royal Pavillion was first built. We recently sourced this important English carpet form a large estate in Connecticut.
There was quite the buzz in the high-end rug world over the sale of this carpet when it appeared on the front page of the catalogue of Sotheby's European and Oriental Rugs, Carpets and Textiles sale in March 1990 as lot 303. The carpet, in addition to an Aubusson in the sale, was given in trust with the Royal Pavillion, Brighton by the organizers of the first three Regency Festivals with certain stipulations. The two carpets were to be shown all year round. Instead, the Royal Pavillion decided to sell the pieces. Richard Marks, the director of the Royal Pavillion at the time, defended the sale. Marks believed that the increased stress would be detrimental to the well-being of the pieces. The carpet failed to hit it estimate at the Sotheby's auction but ended up being sold to a private buyer less than a month later.
This carpet was advertised in Hali 49 page 75 and written about in Hali 51, page 179.
Literature:
Jacobs, Axminster carpets: (hand-made): 1755-1957, 1970, pl. 15, p. 56
Pictured in The Banqueting Hall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton, East Sussex, 1960s. Artist: Eric de Maré
Provenance:
Purchased from purchased from a Mr. Pontremoli in 1948 by the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove
Sotheby's European and Oriental Rugs, Carpets and Textiles March 1990, lot 303.
Private Sale
22 ft. x 44 ft. 6 in.
c. 1810, Thomas Whitty's carpet workshop, established in Axminster in 1755, reached its zenith in the period 1765-1790, when numerous commissions were received for many of the great houses of England. Many of these were designed by Robert Adam, often to reflect his neo-classical ceilings. The current carpet represents typical Regency in its use of bright colors and classical motifs.
This carpet used to be in the Banquet room of the Royal Pavilion of Brighton. It was purchased from a Mr. Pontremoli in 1948 by the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove as a replacement for the original Axminster carpet commissioned when the Royal Pavillion was first built. We recently sourced this important English carpet form a large estate in Connecticut.
There was quite the buzz in the high-end rug world over the sale of this carpet when it appeared on the front page of the catalogue of Sotheby's European and Oriental Rugs, Carpets and Textiles sale in March 1990 as lot 303. The carpet, in addition to an Aubusson in the sale, was given in trust with the Royal Pavillion, Brighton by the organizers of the first three Regency Festivals with certain stipulations. The two carpets were to be shown all year round. Instead, the Royal Pavillion decided to sell the pieces. Richard Marks, the director of the Royal Pavillion at the time, defended the sale. Marks believed that the increased stress would be detrimental to the well-being of the pieces. The carpet failed to hit it estimate at the Sotheby's auction but ended up being sold to a private buyer less than a month later.
This carpet was advertised in Hali 49 page 75 and written about in Hali 51, page 179.
Literature:
Jacobs, Axminster carpets: (hand-made): 1755-1957, 1970, pl. 15, p. 56
Pictured in The Banqueting Hall, Royal Pavilion, Brighton, East Sussex, 1960s. Artist: Eric de Maré
Provenance:
Purchased from purchased from a Mr. Pontremoli in 1948 by the Regency Society of Brighton and Hove
Sotheby's European and Oriental Rugs, Carpets and Textiles March 1990, lot 303.
Private Sale
22 ft. x 44 ft. 6 in.