PALACE OF WESTMINSTER RUG

Details

A.W.N. PUGIN; UNITED KINGDOM
PALACE OF WESTMINSTER RUG
1844-1852, hand-knotted wool
99¼ in. (252.3 cm.) x 35 5/8 in. (90.5 cm.)

Provenance

Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), London

Exhibited

Victoria & Albert Museum, London, private loan 1981-2001
Victoria & Albert Museum, London, Pugin; a Gothic Passion, 15 June - 11 September 1994

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This is believed to be the only surviving rug of its type from the Palace of Westminster. The rugs were removed after about ten years of use owing to impracticality.

Following the Westminster fire of 16th October 1834, Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin (1812-52) collaborated with Charles Barry (1795-1860) between 1844-1852 on the extensive reconstruction and refurbishment of the Palace. The two architects had previously worked together in the mid-1830's on the King Edward VI School in Birmingham.

The design drawing held at the Victoria and Albert Museum depicts various alternatives for the central field of the rug including the Victoria Regina monogram, four crowns, a portcullis and a Tudor rose.

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