Treasures From Another Time

Anatolian Kurmujur Rug

The world of antique rugs is vibrant and full of history - The London Antique Rug and Textile Art Fair (LARTA) is a celebration of this rich past, and a look into its future. An important commercial event for dealers and private buyers alike, LARTA also offers a glimpse into how we have utilised and interacted with textiles over several centuries. There is a magic that exists in the imagining of 17th century English needlepoint wall hangings in their original surroundings, an intrigue into why these textiles were created, and how they came into being.

 Early English needlepoint panel, c.1700

The massively influential Asian and Oriental traditions of rug production are also well represented at LARTA, with exhibitors such as the London House showing impossibly bright Ikat textiles whose bold, graphic construction belies their age. Also featuring in the fair are Turkish and Anatolian rugs, antique tapestries, silk brocade from Uzbekistan and many many more treasures. The breadth of antique textiles on display show provides a wonderful glimpse of the diversity that exists across the traditional textile world.

Beautiful 'Nim' Suzani, Bokhara, circa 1850

This fair is a London platform for the buying and selling of a fantastically valuable commodity, and not only gives us an insight into this part of the textile trade but also a sense of the history and cultures that have shaped what it is today.

LARTA runs from 22nd to 27th January 2017, at Battersea Park, London