I was first introduced to the C. John Gallery in 1981….At the time, I was a young rug enthusiast, from Canada, trying to learn as much as I could by visiting rug galleries around the world .London was a choice destination for such adventures and the C. John Gallery was one of these “hallowed halls” of oriental rug purveyors.

Frankly, at the time, I was intimidated walking into this shop. I had very limited means to buy top end rugs. But very soon the genuine welcome of Leon Sassoon put me at ease. He gracefully asked me about my interests? A warm cup of “builders tea” was offered and Leon and his able assistants proceeded to enthral me with choice items….I was blown away by the depth of the selection and the quality of the items on display.

40 years on…I now consider myself fortunate to have had the courage to wander into this “Ali Baba den” of oriental rug delights.

Over the past 40 years, Patty and I have become consummate rug collectors. Some would even describe us as “serious rug enthusiasts”.

Leon asked me to share some of my reflections on our shared collaborations together.

I particularly enjoyed several show and tell sessions hosted at his gallery. Looking back over these years, I was pleasantly surprised to rediscover the diversity of rugs we had acquired from C. John. Top of the league was a “Khazan” signed Azur blue Kashan poshti…it sparkles. Then there was an exceptional Caucasian woven horse saddle cover. I particularly still cherish a pair of South West Persian tribal Khamseh “bird” saddle bag covers. Or a soulful Chinese Ningxia altar rug. In total over a dozen pieces from C. John enrich our collection…..

I share herein (with photos) three items that I am most proud of :

An exceptional Caucasian Shirvan-Marasali square prayer rug which now adorns the wall in our dining room.It is in outstanding mint condition considering that it is dated to the last quarter of the 19th century circa. 1870…

Another stunner is the Ottoman Kula prayer rug. It was woven in Central Anatolia for the use by a pious devote of Islam.A vestige of the late 18th or early 19th century era of Turkish Sultans….

And more recently was the advent of another stunner that joined our collection. It has a mixed design motif reminiscent of rugs from the Veramin district in Persia. It already has found a home as a table cover in our dining room. Patty was so pleased with it and described it as something that even Lorenzo Medici would have liked to add to his household….indeed the piece is older than being woven in Veramin. This rug dates without a doubt to the late 19th century or at the latest the very early 20th century. The conundrum is that Veramin did not start weaving rugs till after the 1930’s. However, Veramin weavers were known to have adapted rug designs from North West Persia including variants of this Mina Khani pattern which dates back to the 17th century Safavid rule.

Sadly business conditions have changed the shape of the oriental rug trade in London. The vast majority of choice dealership shops have moved on elsewhere from central London or the West End. Virtual web-based galleries and exhibitions are now the norm.This transformation has even reached the shores of venerable dealers such as C. John….but the range,depth and diversity of choice articles are still there….

Here at our home in the Cotswolds, the C. John influence and signature identity are very much in evidence…..and the long standing friendship with Leon and Colette Sassoon…..continues.