An Axminster carpet, England

the chocolate brown ground with stencil ton-sur-ton flowers and leaves in light coffee and overlaid with trailing summer flowers centred by a bouquet within a garland of roses and passion flowers, flower filled urns to each corner, ducks on a mound centering each end, dark charcoal border of shaped cartouches, rocaille, acanthus and flower trails

Emmie Avery Keddell, 'The Earl and Countess of Crewe at Home', The Pall Mall Magazine, July-December 1906, vol. 38, p.429, illustrated in the Red Drawing Room at Crewe House, London;
Crewe House, London, Inventory, Vol. I, 1913, p.207, in the North Drawing Room; The black ground floreated and bordered Smyrna [sic] pile carpet with fringed ends. 26ft. by 14ft.;
West Horsley Place, Surrey, Inventory, 1938, Vol. 1, p.1, in the Morning Room; A tete de negre ground Needlework Carpet with elaborate floral design and border, and underfelt. 26ft.6” x 14ft.3”. £400.;
‘West Horsley Place II’, Country Life, 1 April 1939, p. 329, illustrated in the Morning Room.

The carpet needs a thorough clean to fully reveal its beautiful range of colours, and stabilising, but is overall in genuine and sound condition, particularly in light of its age. In detail: the pile overall fair, with knot bars beginning to appear and with spot foundation visible in warm brown of field and one area of wear, as visible in photograph. Dark brown ground of border is almost completely oxidised. Side cords mainly original. Upper end with reweave along central outermost edge of border and with replaced fringing in that section; similar reweave at lower edge and with two minor areas of re-piling in guard stripe; section of harp stringing and cobbled repair in left hand border just above flower basket and some re-piling in right hand border opposite. A fabulous example of an 18th century English carpet. Please request additional digital images from Harry Grenfell (harry.grenfell@sothebys.com).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Whitty of Axminster:

On a trip to London in 1754, the educated and entrepreneurial Thomas Whitty I (1713-1792) of Axminster, saw a Turkish knot carpet for the first time. Such an impression was made, on the cloth weaver, that on 21st June 1755 he, his wife and daughters began to weave their first carpet together. In the same year Whitty met a Mr Twynihoe the steward to the Earl of Shaftsbury; Lady Shaftsbury would later become a valued client of Whitty’s. In 1756 Twynihoe encouraged Whitty to enter a competition for carpets sponsored by the Society of Arts and Sciences. Winning joint first prize in the competition Whitty engaged a London agent, a Mr Crompton, for the sale of his production. By 1782 the Axminster factory, now known as Thomas Whitty and Son, was flourishing.

Axminster carpets graced many of the finest English country houses of the second half of the 18th century and early 19th century; they were woven for specific rooms designed by Robert Adam and James Wyatt, amongst others, or supplied as a part of decorative schemes by, for example, Chippendale or Crace for their fashionable clientele. Whitty was a keen botanist and many of the carpets produced at Axminster in the 18th century amply demonstrate his fascination for flowers, depicting realistic baskets, swags and sprays abundant with flora. The present beautiful carpet is a splendid and charming reflection of his love of botany and the English garden.

The Fabric of Fryston:

This carpet could possibly have been acquired by, or through the influence of, the poet and Member of Parliament Richard Monckton-Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton (1809 - 1885), who had a known love of paintings, books and carpets; passions for which his son, Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe, also adopted. Certainly Houghton’s family history indicates an affiliation with fabric and textiles. Descending from his ancestor Robert Milnes (circa 1695/6 - 1733) a prosperous cloth merchant from Wakefield, Yorkshire, likewise his son Robert Pemberton-Milnes (circa 1718/19 - 1733) who made great success of the family business. This success allowed Pemberton’s nephew and beneficiary, Richard Slater-Milnes MP (1759 - 1804) - Lord Houghton’s grandfather and cloth manufacturer - to buy the sizable Fryston Hall circa 1788. Indeed Slater-Milnes could be credited for the commission of this early Whitty work. According to James Pope-Hennessy, before taking up residence in 1790 Slater-Milnes arranged extensive refurbishment to the Hall, most notably the exterior such as the Italian front and Ionic Pediment, even having his portrait taken by the much celebrated George Stubbs. Determined to be seen the country gentleman Slater-Milnes spared no expense on the Hall. Fryston, home to the Milnes family for four generations, was lavishly furnished during their time there, starting with Slater-Milnes and ending with the young Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, later 1st Marquess of Crewe. Pope-Hennessy further informs us of the interior of the hall circa 1835-7 and makes distinct mention to a carpet of similar description to the present “The library had a floor of stone flags, though elsewhere lay fine flowered English carpets, that in the drawing-room being black and pink and white”, Pope-Hennessy, James, Monckton Milnes The Years of Promise 1809-1851, London, 1949, Chp III. 1835-7, p. 85. and Chp I. 1809-29, p. 7. Although he only became the owner of Fryston in 1858 Richard Monckton-Milnes had used the Hall as his own in previous years and it is possible that he influenced, or indeed was the orchestrator, for purchase of the present work. However given the family’s affiliation Slater-Milnes may also lay claim to the procurement, or indeed original commission, of the current floral carpet.

Crewe House and West Horsley Lodge:

The marriage of Lady Primrose, daughter of 5th Earl Rosebury and former Prime Minister, to The Earl of Crewe, 2nd Baron Houghton, was celebrated in 1899 and in June 1901 they bought Wharncliffe House, later named Crewe House. The present Axminster can be seen illustrated in situ there in the Red Drawing Room, London, in Pall Mall Magazine, Vol. 38, July - December 1906. Fryston Hall had been sold in 1904, the same year that Sir Winston Churchill was to meet his beloved future wife, Clementine Hozier, at a ball in Crewe House. The carpet remained there, surviving the February 1911 fire – possibly the second fire it survived as there was another at Fryston in 1876 - to be moved to the then newly bought West Horsley Place and is illustrated in the family archives in the Morning Room circa 1931.

Comparable Works:

Two striking carpets are comparable to this Axminster; the first is that in the Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, Delaware. Whitty’s use of flora and fauna is almost exactly replicated and can easily be seen in the corners of each carpet where in the outer limits of the corners scallop motifs are surrounded by acanthus and sprays of flowers, inside the main border and entering the field design are two diagonally opposite pairs of floral latticed baskets, one pair with concave baskets and the other with convex. The use of the ducks on the mound, no doubt inspired from ‘Ducks’ Sayer. R, A New Book of Birds, 1765, is also almost identical. The design and colouring of the pink, blue, yellow and orange flowers and chocolate, earthy ground is again very similar, and in many cases near identical. The present lot differs to the Winterthur carpet with its overall more open design, due to the difference in length allowing more space for the floral motifs; the Winterthur also differs in the central medallion design and the present lot has two bouquets of roses in-between the main border and the rectangular garland of flowers.

The second example more similar in scale and use of design within the central medallion can be seen illustrated in Saltram House NT, in the Red Velvet Drawing Room, Jacobs, Bertram, Axminster Carpets (Hand-made) 1755 – 1957, Leigh-on-Sea, 1970, pl. 42. The original house at Saltram was bought by the wealthy Parker family and was extensively refurbished after their acquiring it in circa 1743. In this example the borders, baskets and floral sprays also appear to match the present lot.

Further Reading:

Pope-Hennessy, James, Monckton Milnes The Years of Promise, Chp 1. 1809-29, p. 7, for comment on Richard Slater Milne’s family lineage, business and wealth, Chp III. 1835-7, p. 85, for discussion of extensive refurbishment and lavish expenditure on Fryston by Richard Slater Milnes, Chp IV 1835-1837, Description of Fryston Hall, p. 85 For commentary of Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton at Fryston and for a description of the interior at that time.  

Pope-Hennessy, James, Lord Crewe 1858 : 1945 The Likeness of a Liberal, Forward by Lady Crewe, p xi, for mention of Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron Houghton’s interest in carpets and collecting.

Crewe, Quentin, Crewe House The Royal Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, A Short History by Quentin Crewe, For general discussion on Crewe House and Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe’s decoration after acquisition. P. 51 the present lot is illustrated in situ at Crewe House.

Jacobs, Bertram, Axminster Carpets (Hand-made) 1755-1957, for comprehensive reading on Thomas Whitty and the Axminster Factory. Chp 3. Origin and Progress of the Factory, pp. 20 – 29, for detailed discussion on Whitty’s early development and sponsors.

Sherrill, Sarah, Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America, Chp 5. Great Britain, pp 200 – 201 see plate 212 for the Winterthur Axminster and plate 214 for the image of  “Ducks” which are near identical to those in the offered carpet, plate 214 taken from A New Book of Birds published by Robert Sayer, London, 1765.

Great Carpets of the World, Ed. Alcouffe, Daniel, Chp IX. The Carpet in Great Britain, Clothilde Galea-Blanc, pp. 288 – 289 for discussion of Thomas Whitty, 18th century carpet weaving development in England and an illustration of the similar Winterthur example.