the zaleski collection

the collection of antique carpets, put together over more than fifty years of passionate activity by romain zaleski, is composed of 1325 carpets datable from the end of the 15^th century to the beginning of the 20^th century. it is probably the most complete private collection in existence in the world today.

the collection has grown further thanks to the acquisition of carpets from the haute époque and its renown has been confirmed by exhibition events such as serenissime trame and hortus conclusus, as well as by the frequent loans requested for international exhibitions.

the composition of the collection substantially covers worldwide production across the entire history of the carpet and can be seen in the presentation of the seven main macro-areas that have been the production centres of this precious artistic activity, from west to east: specimens are to be found coming from europe and north africa, persia, asia minor, the caucasus and central asia, in the region generically indicated as turkestan, from india, china and japan.

the collection covers a wide variety of carpet types, with many masterpieces that are very rare for their antiquity and origin. they range from large-format carpets made for palaces or mosques to small rugs for personal prayer.
characterized by countess decorative types, these ‘coloured grounds’ are sometimes stylized gardens evoking luxuriant enclosures isolated from the aridity of the desert, sometimes geometrical compositions with superb decorative variety, sometimes items of vegetation that take on almost abstract forms in the development of the seamless repetition of the motifs.

for absolutely the first time, this website illustrates the entire collection with inventory cards and photographs. many of the rarer and more precious pieces are accompanied by in-depth scientific datasheets.