Carpet Diem: Tales from the World of Oriental Rugs

A colorful tour through the enthralling world of antique oriental carpets and its unusual characters that is also an honest and often humorous meditation about beautiful objects and our impulse to collect them.

One day, the prizewinning poet George Bradley happened to take note of a carpet that had lain beneath his feet for decades. Carefully studying its weave and pattern, he was astonished by its complexity and allure. He became suddenly fascinated, and his newfound curiosity about oriental rugs sent him on a thrilling collecting adventure, introducing him to a little-known realm in which beauty, artistry, business, and history collide.

Carpet Diem chronicles Bradley’s exploration of the world of oriental carpets, one in which he falls in love with a variety of captivating rugs and learns about the cultural background of the people who made them. A journey from innocence to experience, this entertaining account includes his encounters with the dealers, collectors, scroungers, restorers, and connoisseurs who inhabit an exotic and sometimes shady milieu. As he brings together his own story with those of these characters, he also tells some of the history of what is one of the world’s great art forms. Like Scheherazade, Bradley spins tale after tale about the sorts of gorgeous textiles found on the floors of mansions across Europe and America, in the portraits of Titian and Vermeer, in the faraway caves of Central Asia, and in bespoke shops of Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Westport, Connecticut.

A narrative nonfiction account that combines the mesmerizing storytelling found in The Arabian Nights with the pilgrimage into history that unfolds in The Silk Road and the dramatic compulsion to possess rare elegance that propels The Orchid Thief, Carpet Diem is an unusual and charming memoir that testifies to the intricate beauty woven into our world.

Carpet Diem features eleven full-color photographs throughout.

This captivating journey into the art of collecting includes:

• A Poet’s Eye for Detail: Join a prizewinning poet on his journey from innocence to experience as a chance discovery of a family heirloom sends him on an adventure into the beautiful, and sometimes shady, world of antique rugs.
• Humorous Memoir: With the mesmerizing storytelling of The Arabian Nights and the obsessive drive of The Orchid Thief, this account is an honest and often funny meditation on the impulse to collect beautiful objects.
• Unforgettable Characters: Meet the dealers, collectors, scroungers, and connoisseurs who inhabit the exotic milieu of one of the world’s great, and little-known, art forms.
• Rich Art History: Follow the author as he learns the cultural background of the people who made these gorgeous textiles and tells the story of an art form found in masterpieces by Titian and Vermeer.