About this lot
Description
on linen canvas with an abstract design of interlocking cloud shapes in grey and cream and rectangular panels in dark brown, yellow and cream, with 'BJ' monogram in brown within a box to the lower right-hand corner 205 x 126cmFor a similar rug, see the Museum of the Home, object reference 52/1997Provenance: From the collection of Isabelle AnscombeLiterature:A larger version of this rug can be seen on page 34 of 'Design And Decoration In The Home' by Noel Carrington, Country Life Ltd., 1938Footnote: Although her career as a furniture, textile, and interior designer was sadly brief, spanning only the eleven years between 1927 and 1938, Betty Joel’s creations, though little-known by the public, are firmly ensconced within the cannon of early 20th century British design.Produced in Tientsin, present day Tianjin, China, Joel makes reference to the present lot in a diary entry, dated March 13th, 1930, where she writes: “We are getting a few [rugs] made for ourselves in China, as a matter of fact. We can get them cheaper and of better quality there than from France”. Typified by a dexterous and harmonious synthesis of Western modernism and restrained Eastern aesthetics, influenced by a childhood spent in Hong Kong, Joel’s textiles also demonstrate a refined understanding of tone and colour.Lent by Michael and Julia Pruskin, the present lot was included alongside other iconic designs in the Brighton Royal Pavilion Art Gallery’s 1975 exhibition British Carpets and Designs: The Modernist Rug 1928-1938 (October 5th- November 2nd), and, during the 1980s, was sold by the Pruskin Gallery to the present vendor, Isabelle Anscombe. An arts journalist and author of influential titles including 'Arts & Crafts in Britain and America (with Charlotte Gere), Academy Editions/Rizzoli, 1978, Anscombe has written about Betty Joel in several publications, such as ‘A Woman's Touch: Women in Design from 1860 to the Present Day', Virago, 1984, and in The Times in 1977 and again, in 1983.Condition report: In good condition, may benefit from a clean, but overall very good. Left-hand edge is a little uneven, possibly the result of re-edging?? If so, this is historic.
Back to lot listings