Sold

18th Century Turkish Rug from James Ballard 47373

Size: 4 ft 9 in x 5 ft 10 in (1.45 m x 1.78 m)
Origin: Turkish Rugs

Antique 18th Century Anatolian Rug From The James Ballard Collection #47373. This 18th century piece displays an unusual and superbly colored medallion with rectilinear spandrels and symbolic space fillers.

18th Century Turkish Rug From The James Ballard Collection– This 18th century piece displays an unusual and superbly colored medallion with rectilinear spandrels and symbolic space fillers. Latch-hook ornaments, S-hooks and arthropod-an end pieces that prompt comparisons with early kilims. Documented as a beloved part of his original collection, this carpet was included in several exhibitions in the 1920′s (see below).

18th Century Anatolian Rug From James Ballard Collection

Ballard Rugs – One of the rarest and most unique central Anatolian carpets has returned to the market. Nazmiyal Collection is pleased to continue the legacy of James Franklin Ballard (1851–1931), an entrepreneur and one of America’s earliest and foremost antique carpet scholars. This important tribal village carpet is a true museum piece that represents one of the rarest and most elusive carpet types from central Anatolia. The opportunity to acquire such a well-documented carpet of this caliber, quality and history is exceptionally rare.

James Ballard was such a generous, altruistic individual who donated nearly all of his carpets to important museums. This is one of the pieces that he kept for himself, a sign that he cherished it too much to part with.

“I want people to see and understand the great beauty to be found in rugs.” – James Ballard

Entrepreneur and Antique Rug Collector James Franklin Ballard - Nazmiyal

Entrepreneur and Antique Rug Collector James Franklin Ballard

In 1922, Ballard donated 126 carpets to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. These items make up roughly one-fourth of the Met’s current carpet collection – which is considered one of the most significant collections in the world today. Another 70 carpets were gifted to the City Art Museum in Saint Louis, Ballard’s “adopted” hometown.

James Ballard was a collector and traveler nonpareil. Between age 55 and his death at age 79, he logged more than 450,000 miles, visited 42 countries and assembled an unrivaled collection of nearly 300 carpets,. His antique rug collection was largely comprised of early carpets that dated from the 15th through the 18th centuries.

James Ballard's Antique Anatolian Carpet Nazmiyal

James Ballard’s Antique Anatolian Carpet

This particular 18th century piece displays an unusual and superbly colored medallion with rectilinear spandrels and symbolic space fillers. Latch-hook ornaments, S-hooks and arthropod-an end pieces that prompt comparisons with early kilims. Documented as a beloved part of his original collection, this carpet was included in several exhibitions in the 1920’s (see below).

As Ballard pointed out, carpets of this age are increasingly difficult to find. Their colors and designs have a certain richness that contemporary creations can’t compete with. Exquisite maize yellows and blazing madder reds are worked into the dazzling medallion while rare lichen greens appear in the spandrels and leap off the brown colored ground. The splendid ultramarine borders, which display exceptional clarity and contrasting ornaments, are equally impressive.

Ballard Rugs Nazmiyal

Ballard Rugs

The four other carpets that fit this stylistic and geographic niche include a piece in Istanbul’s Vakiflar Carpet Museum, a fragment that appeared in the popular “Hali” magazine and a carpet featured in a 1988 edition of Eberhart Herrmann’s “Seltene Orientteppiche” catalog. Nazmiyal is tremendously proud to be able to offer collectors a rug of this caliber that aligns with the company’s mission and commitment to sourcing the best and rarest pieces. This extraordinary carpet can be viewed at the Manhattan rug gallery or online. A century later, James Ballard continues to share his love of carpets with the world.

This is on of the best examples of its kind – especially since it is in such excellent condition.

The Ballard Rug Was Exhibited:

  • Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, Special loan collection of carpets and other textiles from AsiaMinor, 1919
  • Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Exhibition of Oriental rugs lent by James F. Ballard, Nov. 17, 1923 – Jan. 31, 1924
  • The John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, Oriental rugs in the Collection of James F. Ballard, August -September 1924
  • The Art Institute of Chicago, Special Exhibition of Oriental Rugs, October – December 1924

Literature About The Ballard Rug:

  • Catalog of Oriental Rugs in the Collection of James F. Ballard, St. Louis, 1924, no. 83.
  • Hali, 34, Apr./May/June 1987, Auction Guide, p. 79, “Anatolian Village Rug,” Skinner, Bolton, December 16, lot 102.
  • C. Alexander, A Foreshadowing of 21st Century Art. The Color and Geometry of Very Early Turkish Carpets, New York 1993, illustrations pp. 231 and 249.
  • T. Hubbard, “A Ballard Postscript,” Hali, 124, Sept./ Oct. 2002, 104-106.

 The Rug’s Provenance:

  • The Collection of James F. Ballard Thence by descent

Shopping Cart