| sprice@hsc.vcu.edu
Dear Michael, I don't think we'll cross the line that keeps Turkotek out
of commercial waters as long as we don't talk about specific rugs that are
for sale or specific vendors who are offering them. The more general stuff
seems appropriate to me, and, last time I checked, with Turkotek's
Bande of Merrie Men (and Fair Maid Ginnie). So, here are some
general observations. 1. A fragment of a rug is worth less than the whole
thing would be. This seems self-evident enough. Therefore, if a fragment
is worth a lot of money, the whole thing would be worth much, much more.
2. If there is a collector market for old Belouch fragments, it won't be
long before it finds its way into the auction houses. The reason it hasn't
done so just yet, I suspect, is that Belouch prices have risen very fast
(more about this below) and until Belouch rugs became pretty valuable,
fragments of Belouch rugs couldn't be worth much. 3. One of the points
that was raised by some knowledgeable people (Peter Pap and Mary Jo Otsea)
on the Market Trends panel at ACOR was the one you raised; the best pieces
are the ones that lead the market. 4. While the best pieces appreciate
most rapidly (or depreciate least rapidly, depending on the current
fashion), some genres have done much better than others during the past
decade. Caucasians have lagged, for example, and average pieces have lost
subsantial value, although the best ones still command big bucks. Belouch
have done better. The best are worth lots more than they were 10 years
ago, mediocre ones haven't changed much (as you note). The best
embroideries have appreciated in value dramatically, to mention another
example. Mary Jo Otsea attributes this to a tendency for rug collectors to
become textile collectors, with little tendency for textile collectors to
cross in the other direction. I don't have the data with which to debate
the assertion that the Belouch price inflation of the past 10 years
applies to only a small number of pieces, but I suspect that Belouch price
inflation is pretty broadly based. In the December 1988 issue of the late,
much lamented, ORIENTAL RUG REVIEW, George O'Bannon surveyed auction
prices of Belouch group rugs and bags. As of that time, no Belouch bagface
had sold for more than $1500 and no Belouch rug for more than $5500 (I'm
working from a most unreliable memory now, so these numbers may be a
little off). Eleven or so years later, $1,500 is probably not too far
above the average price for nice Belouch bagfaces (a number have sold for
well over $5,000), and the top price for a Belouch rug has now passed
$20,000. Regards, Steve Price |
As far as I know it remained unsold
at the end. At least it was still there. Turkotek is not about people but
ACOR, to a great extent is. Here is Dr. John Sommer, the peripatetic
President of the San Fracisco Bay club, our hosts at ACOR 5. 
Here is one shot of dealer's row.
Can't get the actual panorama of it in. 
When you got into one of the dealer rooms quite frequently there
was a table of small items. Here's one with Central Asian items. 
One of the sessions on Turkish
weavings was given by the venerable Josephine Powell, who for years
wandered the Turkish countryside on horseback photographing and
documenting Turkish kilims and other weavings. It is said that she once
rode into a village and asked if she could photograph their weavings. They
said, of course, but that she had done so twice previously. 
One day this Baluch fragment
appeared in one dealer's room (actually first in the breakfast line on
Maury Bynum's chest). It had a sign saying that it would be sold to the
highest bidder by the end of that day. Reputed to have been bought by a
group of NYC dealers for a price you wouldn't believe. The wonderful blue
ground does not nearly come through in this photo. 
This image is for those who may
have wondered what Murray Eiland, Jr., the psychiatrist and prolific rug
authority and writer looks like. Like a teddy bear, actually, with a nice
gentle manner to match. 
Jerry's long shots of the Dixon house are far better than my own, so I'll
include only two fragments that I liked. Perhaps some others can describe
them accurately for us. 
And here's Jim Dixon. 
Jerry and some of the other folks
have talked about what they bought at ACOR 5, and I personally almost got
away but not quite. One day I ran into an Uzbek band fragment that was
pretty and seemed to me to be seriously under-priced. I left a note, for
the German dealer, who was absent momentarily and forgot it. The last day
the dealer pursued me and I came home with it. 
A fine, enjoyable ACOR 5, as I
will ultimately say again in Ghereh in a coming issue. Regards, R. John
Howe