PARIS.- A rare collection of rugs and tapestries will embellish the PIASA sale of Furniture & Objets d'Art on 15 June 2017. The ensemble consists of fourteen pieces acquired by a Paris connoisseur three decades ago from the celebrated Galerie Catan – one of the most important carpet and tapestry galleries in Paris from 1956 to 1981, routinely supplying such leading decorators as Maison Jansen and Henri Samuel, not to mention the Elysée Palace and the American Embassy.

These fourteen rugs and carpets were chosen with exquisite taste and concern for rarity and condition. Some were bought directly from the gallery, others at auction from the gallery's collection.

The ensemble has a special focus on rugs and tapestries from Spain and the New World, so seldom seen on the market. These include one of the earliest tapestries woven in Peru (probably Cuzco) around 1600, reflecting the cultural mix between the art of the Incas and Renaissance Europe. A carpet bearing the arms of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro, who founded Lima in 1535, is of museum quality in terms of its fresh colours and unique character.

Another masterpiece is a 1773 Spanish Savonnerie-style carpet in striking pinks and blues, inspired by French savoir-faire and exceptionally large at over 8 metres long (fig. 3). Rugs and tapestries from France also feature – some woven under Louis XIII and Louis XIV using the Saint-Cyr petit point technique, others manufactured in Beauvais and Aubusson during the 18th century. Many the works in the collection come with detailed provenance and have been reproduced in specialist publications.