OAKLAND, CA.- Claremont Rug Company founder and president Jan David Winitz today revealed the list of the “50 Best of Their Type Antique Oriental rugs sold in 2019” by his global gallery, which has clients on six continents.

The pieces were all woven circa 1800 -1875, at the height of “The Second Golden Age of Persian Weaving,” ca. 1800 to ca. 1910, and represented 23 major weaving groups, with the most representatives in the Caucasian rugs (12), Persian Mohtasham Kashan (nine) and Persian Bakshaish (nine) styles.

Winitz said that the 85 subgroups from the Caucasus Mountains were his top-selling style of smaller rugs once again this year and that overall the rugs range in size from small, prayer rugs to palace-size.

“The Mohtasham Kashans were at a level that virtually never comes to market,” said Winitz, who founded Claremont in 1980, “and the Bakshaish pieces, included four incredibly rare Camelhair rugs, all with one-in-the-world designs.”

Winitz also recently revealed a “phenomenal” year of sales at the top of the antique rug world. “On our proprietary Antique Rug Pyramid ™,” he said, “What transpired exceeded our most optimistic expectations. Sales of High-Collectible rugs, which are the finest level of 19th century rugs available, increased by a whopping 68 percent. During 2019, 65 percent of our clients included at least one Level 2 or Level 3 rug among their purchases.”

At Claremont, Level 2 pieces are designated “High-Collectible” and Level 3 are “Connoisseur-Caliber.” Level 1 rugs, woven during the First Golden Age (ca. 1300 to ca. 1800), are primarily held in museums and by royal families and are rarely available.

Other highlights of the 50 Best included:

• 12 diverse 19th century Caucasian rugs from several different subgroups, woven in the first to third quarters of the 19th century, including seven “at a magnitude that is seldom found in the literature”

• A world-class Serapi in a palace size (14-1/2 x 20-1/2) and

• Seven premier Ferahan and Ferahan Sarouk rugs

Overall, the rugs were acquired by 28 clients who reside in 18 states in the U.S., as well as Italy and Australia.

“The magnitude of these rugs is a result of our access to long-held estates,” Winitz said, singling out the “Potomac Collection,” a 135-rug trove that was sold to clients in an invitational sale. “It was a three-generation collection of magnificent pieces. We had a tremendous response from highly knowledgeable clients, some of whom have a 35-year history with us. They immediately recognized the quality and rarity of what we had acquired and offered to them.”

Claremont, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, annually sells more High-Collectible Second Golden Age rugs than all the world’s leading auction houses combined.

Jan David Winitz’s Claremont Rug Company (www.claremontrug.com), founded in 1980, is an international art gallery with an inventory of 2500 antique Oriental rugs woven during the “Second Golden Age of Persian Weaving,” (ca. 1800 to ca. 1910). The Gallery, located in Oakland, CA does not participate in off-site exhibitions, shows or auctions. Among its client-focused services are its Whole Home Rug Display consultations, a long-term trade-in policy and its educational focus. Widely written about, Winitz has been featured in publications including Apollo, Art & Antiques, the Financial Times, Luxury Daily, the New York Times, moneyinc.com, Private Air/Luxury Homes, PrivateWealth.com, Robb Report, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal and Worth magazine. Rugs at Claremont are valued in the $15,000 to more than $500,000 per piece range.