As ever in this field, there were one or two surprises including a c.1900 Tabriz carpet measuring 10ft 9in by 6ft 9in (3.28 x 2.05m) which suffered overall, but even, wear and went to the London trade at a ten-times-mid-estimate £3200.
Ms Barrett, however, was more enthusiastic about the way private buyers are coming into the rooms, particularly those looking for tribal items and textiles.
It was one such private buyer who triumphed in a bout of “ferocious” bidding for the textile bag, a mid-19th century torba, made by Tekke or Salor tribespeople of Turkmenistan, shown right.
Measuring 16in by by 3ft 6in (41cm x1.07m), the torba, entered from a local private source, had some slight wear but was otherwise in fine condition. Nevertheless, it was an arcane item and a £250-350 estimate didn’t seem unduly
conservative. The bidders thought it was, however, and the torba attracted interest from America before going to a British collector at £2700.
Successes rolling on
The regular specialist carpets and textiles sales at Salisbury auctioneers Woolley & Wallis (15% buyer’s premium) have shown what can be achieved in the provinces even in the most esoteric subjects, and the latest 560-lot event put together by June Barrett and Ian Bennett on April 10 underlined this. War in the Middle East seemed more likely than most to hit this market, but after a creditable 60 per cent turnover and a total just shy of £100,000, June Barrett was more than happy.
