THE RUGS OF FONTAINE-CHAALIS
New discoveries in a chateau outside Paris
Christine Klose

The Lotto rug (fig. 1) conserved at the ch‰teau de Fontaine-Chaalis has a design that will be very familiar to all those fond of this type, which derives its name from the Italian painter, Lorenzo Lotto. On the basis of the classification of Lotto rugs effected by Charles Grant Ellis, and in accordance with May Beattie's classification,2 this rug belongs to the group of Lottos in kilim style.
The work originates from a workshop in the countryside of western Anatolia. "...

The virtual disappearance in the 18th century of the precious Kirman rugs, which in the 17th century still constituted the most important part of rug exports to Europe, certainly coincides with a period of crisis in the local production centres and a time of great political instability. However, this should perhaps be attributed in the first place to a significant drop in demand from Europe, where aristocratic and bourgeois taste was increasingly shifting towards locally produced rugs. There were production centres by now in France, the Netherlands and in England, all three countries being until that point the main importers of Oriental carpets....

Once again, a major American Conference on Oriental Rugs - the sixth - has been held at the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis. The five previous editions had the merit of being different the one from the other, but this one has been even more innovative for various reasons. In the first place because, unlike the custom from previous years, there was no restriction in the number of participants; this was made possible through choosing a considerably larger hotel as venue and one better equipped both to receive guests and to hold conferences. ...