Ziegler & Co a Manchester-based Swiss producer was a genius in creating the worlds most desirable and decorative carpets. Using wool from Manchester, UK he had workshops in Sultanabad and supplied Liberty and Harvey Nichols. Ziegler & Co were instrumental in shaping how decorative carpets would be produced in Persia and what designs would be woven in Sultanabad for the next 50 years. The company’s designs were essentially Western versions of finer Persian designs, their large scale floral designs and often enormous sizes were modified to the specifications of Western retailers. Most of the Ziegler production was shipped to New York and London.
Ziegler rugs developed an almost immediate following, especially among early collectors, which included the Guinness family, who laid them in Elveden Hall, their Suffolk estate.
Ziegler & Co employed designers from major western department stores such as A B. Altman & Co of New York and Liberty, to modify 16th- and 17th-century Eastern designs for the more restrained western taste. Using highly developed dying techniques, and the best artisans from the region, the Ziegler Co created rugs with decorative all-over patterns and with softer palettes than their vibrant Persian counterparts. Taking the small intricate patterns of finer Persian carpets and enlarging the floral motifs to use on these Ziegler’s. Their following and popularity with the best interior designers throughout the world has seen them stay at the top of the industry since they were produced.
