Sir William Burrell Tapestry collection

During his whole life, Glasgow shipping magnate Sir William Burrell (1861-1958) acquired some 200 European, mainly medieval, tapestries, building one of the largest and most important collections of its kind in the world. Over a period of 60 years, he and his wife Constance extensively decorated their homes with tapestries hung or mounted on the walls. Examples of these works are currently on show in 'Burrell at Kelvingrove: Tapestries; giving the public a rare opportunity to see medieval and Renaissance works from circa 1350-1725, including two which have not been on public display since 1901. The display is a benchmark for future research and interpretation of tapestries of the period. The exhibition follows the publication of the volume Tapestries from the Burrell Collection, a comprehensive and richly illustrated catalogue of the whole collection. Although cataloguing first began in the 1940s, it was not until 2008 that the work could be resumed in full by a team of experts from the museum and the University of Glasgow, who photographed and assessed the collection of all 200 tapestries, but also researched the provenance and exhibition histories of each piece. The third instalment of Sotheby's Rugs & Carpets sale in London covers a wide range of collecting areas. The sale is championed by twenty-two works from the renowned collection of architect and theorist Christopher Alexander. Of these colourful, archaic pieces the most recognizable perhaps is the fabled so-called Pink Panther. Also included are classical rugs and carpets from a North American collector.