NEW YORK.- On October 1, 2002 Sotheby’s in New York will offer for sale carpets and tapestries from the Collection of Doris Leslie Blau, the leading dealer in fine antique carpets and textiles in the US for the past 30 years. The sale will include the rare and unusual pieces for which Mrs. Blau is known, offering a variety of rugs, carpets and tapestries from the 16th century through the Art Deco period. Sotheby’s exhibition will begin on Wednesday, September 25th until Monday, September 30th. The collection of over 200 items personally selected by Mrs. Blau is estimated to sell for $3.5/4.5 million.

Mary Jo Otsea, Head of Sotheby’s Carpet Department, noted: “Doris Leslie Blau is legendary in the carpet world for her extraordinary eye and captivating personality. Her success in the field has been an inspiration to many and Sotheby’s is honored to offer this collection which celebrates the unique, eclectic and discerning eye of Mrs. Blau.”

Mrs. Blau, referred to by designer Michael Smith as “the oracle of the rug world,” began her career in the carpet world in 1964 with her then husband, prominent dealer Vojtech Blau. In 1972 she established her own gallery on 57th street, subsequently moving to her present premises on Fifth Avenue. In 1998, Mrs. Blau began a successful partnership with Nader Bolour that has expanded the business and assured its continuation into the future. Most recently she has launched a line of new carpets woven from her own designs. This fall she will offer a second collection of new carpets created by a group of today’s most prominent designers at her Contemporary Design Gallery in the Fuller Building at 57th Street and Madison Avenue.

All of the carpets in this sale come from the Fifth Avenue gallery including a mid 19th century Bessarabian Kilim, finely worked with an unusual overall design of cornucopias, measuring 13 feet by 10 feet 5 inches (est. $60/80,000); a bold medallion design and subtly colored Ziegler Mahal carpet from the late 19th century, measuring approximately 15 feet 10 inches by 11 feet 8 inches (estimated to sell for $40/60,000); a large cotton carpet from Agra, India, featuring a maple leaf pattern and a wide border with eclectically drawn and spaced leafy vines, 17 feet 9 inches by 14 feet 6 inches (est. $80/120,000); and two rare American hooked carpets, (10 feet 8 inches by 8 feet 8 inches and 13 feet 10 inches by 10 feet 11 inches), each with a tile pattern filled with ducks and other fowl, (estimated to sell for $25/35,000 and $30/40,000 respectively.)