The London Antique Rug and Textile Art Fair (LARTA)is delighted to be back at Evolution London, BatterseaPark, London SW8 4NWfrom Tuesday 25 to Sunday 30 January 2022after theannual eventwas held online onlyin 2021.18 of the best dealers from around the UK and France are exhibiting a rich blendof carpets, rugs and textiles on the mezzanine of The Decorative Fair.LARTA is the UK’s only specialist event for fine textile art, antique carpets, vintage rugs and associated works of art.

Organiser, Aaron Nejad of Aaron Nejad Gallerysaid, “We have a full complement of exhibitors, all of us keen to get back to meet interior designers, collectors andclients,old and new,face to face.With so many of us around the world spending more time athome, the focus is on interiors andenjoying where we live. For those who are not able to come to the Fair, we continue to run our simultaneous online event, LARTA Online, on our website www.larta.net, mirroring someitems for sale at our Battersea event.”

A new exhibitor joining LARTA for the first time is Manchester based Phil Bell Antique Oriental Rugs. Bell has a penchant for tribal rugs, in particular, having spent 30 years in the world of tribal weaving. A highlight on the stand is a wonderful late 19thcenturyCaucasian Gendje rug with a lattice of stars on a yellow ground. Bell describes it as “the stained glass window of rugs.”

Exhibiting for the first time on the mezzanine, having joined LARTA Virtual 2021, is Ian Shaw, Tribal Art & Textiles from Glasgow. Shaw has a fine selection of kente from the Ewe people of the Volta region of Ghana, which make stylishbedspreads, hangings and throws.A Togolese Ewe chief’s robe dates from around 1920 and is priced at £2,800. Another fine late 19thcentury Ewe kente in classic autumnal Ewe colours is woven with mystical floating motifs of antelopes, birds and trees, POA.

Formerly known as Tribal Rugs Gallery, Murad Akhtar’s activities haverecently expanded exponentially from a small studio spaceto a new 2,600 square foot warehouse in Essex. Trading under the new name of Antique Décor, Akhtar now has room for many more rugs and textiles, varying from antique Persian and Caucasian rugs and trappings to Indonesian ikat, Polish folk art and American tapestries, a number of which can be foundat LARTA 2022 this January.

A highlight on James Cohen Antique Carpets’stand is an 18thcentury Turkish village prayer rug, probably from Dazkiri Menderes Valley in western Anatolia, £6,500. This rare and highly colourful square prayer rug has been conserved professionally onto linen ready for display.

Joining from Toulon in France, for the second time, is Villa Rosemaine, whoselarge bedspread or hanging in sky-bluechinésatin silk embroidered with polychrome mercerized satin silk thread and couched stitch pointsinspired the LARTA 2022 logo colorings.

Owen Parryfrom Abergavenny is possibly showing the oldest piece at January’sfair. Dating circa 400-600ADin Egypt,is a pair superbfinely woven silkCoptic squarespriced at £3,850 the pair.Other highlightsarea 19thcentury Bochara suzanifrom central Asia, circa 1880,and a 17thcentury Brussels tapestry, each priced £8,500.

Amongst the items for sale on Anthony Hazledine’sstand is an exquisite large handwoven Kashmir shawl with an unusual turquoise central panel, circa 1850s, priced in the region of £3,000. Hazledine describes this very fine wool shawl as “a masterpiece of weaving.”Fair organiser, Aaron Nejad Gallerybrings an interesting varietyof textiles and carpetsto appeal to many, amongst which is a silk ikat panel from Uzbekistan with flaming palmettes, £450;a Lakai embroidery, also from Uzbekistan, circa 1890, £550;an Ottoman period silk on linen embroidery, £450;a Jaf Kurd bagface, circa 1880, £750; a Ziegler rug from the Sultanabad district of West Persia, circa 1880, probably made as a sampler, £2,000and a vintage Swedish kilim bySwedish designer and master weaverIngegerd Silow (1916-2005), circa 1960, priced at £1,150.

Contemporary carpet specialistGideon Hatchhas chosen LARTA 2022 to show the new design ‘Obelix’ for the first time. Made of handspun Turkish wool and hand knotted in India it comes in two colourways, priced at £900 per square metre for the fine weave edition.Working well in both contemporary and traditional interiors are thevintage and mid-century rugs that have always been an integral part of Emily’s House London’s collection with Moroccan Berber rugs, Turkish kilims, rag rugs and tribal flat weaves.

Launched in 2011, the LARTA Fair is an important date for decorators, collectors, and discerning buyers looking for practical and decorative rugs and textiles to beautify their homes. At LARTA 2022the 18 expert dealers are offering items originating from Persia, India, China, Japan, Central Asia, Anatolia and the Caucasus, as well as from Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Tickets are £20 each for the opening day (Tuesday 25 January) or £10 each for subsequent days, to be booked online through Eventbrite athttps://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/london-antique-rug-and-textile-art-fair-larta-tickets-207900133897?aff=ebdssbdestsearchThe tickets also give visitors access to The Decorative Fair.More information and LARTA Online 2022 at

www.larta.net

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