SOME exceptional carpets from the collection of George Moffatt MP and his descendants, owners of Goodrich Court in Herefordshire, were offered for sale at Lawrences in Crewkerne on October 13. The house, now demolished, was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as a “fantastic and enormous castellated tower-bedecked house” and was occupied until the Second World War when it was used as a school by evacuees from Essex. A contemporary account records that 'the house was furnished with amazing furniture and paintings (with) armour everywhere. I remember one boy got stuck inside a Jacobean helmet and had to be rescued by the headmaster'.

The items then passed by family descent and were most recently housed at Crowcombe Court, Somerset from where a group was sold as part of the Somerset auctioneers' autumn Fine Art sale. Highlights included a Feraghan rug from West Iran (£2,370), a rare Isfahan silk souk rug (£5000) and a similar silk souf prayer rug (£,9760). The top prices were paid for a fine Amritsar carpet from Punjab, 4.7 x 3.6m, that soared to £14,000 and a pair of Agra runners from North India that were bid eagerly to £20,700. “The combination of good provenance, fine quality, good condition and realistic estimates ensured that we had plenty of bids, “commented Lawrences’ Director, Neil Grenyer. “The results show that we can attract international bidders for lots that are so desirable: we had telephone bidders – some private, some trade - from Italy, Turkey and Iran, in addition to many London bidders. Not surprisingly, our vendors are delighted with the outcome.”

Lawrences sells rugs and carpets within its quarterly Fine Art sales in January, April, July and October. enquiries@lawrences.co.uk, www.lawrences.co.uk.