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1900 John rittle rug.jpg (13182 bytes)Ambassador Riddle Rug.

One thing is for sure,  and that is you can never tell where your next collectible will show up. This rug is a great example of a find that expands in interest the further it is studied.

  • When looking for items for your collection, be sure to keep watching in the most obscure places for possibilities. I have found weavings in restaurants as decorations, liners in dog beds, and with
    one family I know, a fortune in Navajo blankets were used as furniture moving pads.
    Become a watcher at all times and in all places because you never know where you will find
    something of value.

When I was in college, the elderly couple, (Victoria & Donald ) that lived next to me were wonderful. She cooked and watched over me like I was her son.  He spent hours telling me stories of his famous family. One day while helping Don get something out of his carport, I noticed an Indian rug wrapped around an item of furniture. On top of this rug were stacked numerous old paint cans and bags of rusty nails. I informed Don that this rug had value and should be indoors and out of the carport. I helped him move it into his house and then arranged for an appraiser to visit and evaluate the rug. As it turned out, the appraiser flipped when she saw, not the rug but the 1700’s writing desk that the rug covered. A few years later, Don’s wife gave me the rug as a gift and it was then I heard its' history.

The Revolution.
As it turned out this rug came from Don’s adopted father, Ambassador John Riddle of Farmington Connecticut. He was the last American Ambassador to Russia and the Tzar before the Communist Revolution. When on a visit to someone in Arizona sometime between 1900 and 1910, he acquired this rug either as a gift or purchased as a souvenir. The rug was placed in his Farmington, Connecticut. mansion along side art works by Monet, Whistler, and Degas. Today you can visit the family estate called Hill-Stead which is now a museum. Mr. Riddle’s wife, Theodate Pope Riddle is also well known as one of America’s first female architects.

When Don went to college, his father gave him this rug for his dorm room. From the east to the west, this rug ended up in California where it graced the entrance of a large Pacific Palisades home where many famous movie stars and producers stood as they were greeted and said their farewells . The rug came to me after Don and his wife retired to Colorado and became my friends.

  • Although this rug was stained with paint and rust, I was able to have it restored with the help of a competent restoration expert. Many seemingly hopelessly damaged and stained weavings can
    be restored with knowledgeable cleaning and re-weaving.
    One place you can check out for restoration is:

Robert Mann
Oriental Rug Restoration
2540 Walnut Street
Denver, Colorado 80205
303-292-9801

 

 

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Last modified:  January 08, 2004

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