Charles Francis Annesly Voysey, born 1857, was an influential architect and prolific designer of the British Arts and Crafts movement. Voysey opened his own architectural firm in 1882 and he began designing textiles, carpets and wallpaper shortly thereafter. With motifs often incorporating organic forms such as plants and animals in flat planes of colors, Voysey’s flowing patterns were innovative within the carpet industry. His patterns were designed separate from the border allowing the pattern to be repeated an unlimited number of times and therefore created in a variety of sizes. C.F.A. Voysey worked with a number of manufacturers and was well-known throughout Europe, his work most popular with early proponents of the Modernist movement.
Nader Bolour is the man behind the remarkable offerings in this sale. Bolour’s destiny was wrapped in the luxurious world of carpets. He grew up around them, his grandfather establishing Rahim Bolour & Son Carpets in Iran before the family relocated to London in 1979 where, as a boy, Bolour worked in his father’s warehouse sweeping and cleaning carpets. In 1998, just three years after establishing his presence in New York, Bolour acquired the venerable gallery Doris Leslie Blau.
The Doris Leslie Blau gallery was founded in 1965 by Doris Blau, who became a legend in the world of design for her outstanding collection of avant-garde and antique carpets from around the globe. Blau likened carpets to sculpture appreciating their tactile and sensual nature, inviting clients into a homey gallery where they could take their time in selecting the perfect carpet for their homes.
With a keen eye and wealth of knowledge, Bolour continues in the footsteps of his renowned predecessor, offering exceptional carpets as well as creating bespoke rugs that are certain to become the classics of tomorrow.
