#Peter #Collingwood #wallhanging #Sworders #Antique #Collecting
Two wall-hangings by the pioneering British weaver Peter Collingwood (1922-2008) come for sale at Essex aucioneers Sworders in July. They come for sale from Ron Stewart, the former head of the oriental rugs and textiles department at Liberty & Co. He acquired both directly from Collingwood in the late 1990s.
Based in Colchester for much of his career, Peter Collingwood was at the forefront of weaving for half a century. His trademark ‘microgauze’ hanging of woven linen and steel, many of them sold at the time through Liberty’s and Heals, use the traditional craft to create very modern visual abstractions. Today they are admired and collected worldwide.
Sworders has sold several pieces including, in 2022 a large Collingwood hanging that made an auction record of £20,000. Another Collingwood weaving was priced at £30,000 at the recent Treasure House Fair in London.
The two Collingwoods from Ron Stewart are both typical pieces worked in cream and black linen. The larger of the two measuring 2.46m high by 47cm wide, is signed and stamped ‘Peter Collingwood M.9 No.13’. It is guided at £8000-12,000 as part of the Design sale on July 18.
The smaller weaving titled ‘M.84 No.233’, measuring 1.81m high is expected to bring £3000-5000.
Specialist Otto Billstrom said that the market for Collingwood’s distinctive work is experiencing a sweet spot. “Collingwood was almost forgotten by the market at the turn of the 21st century but prices for his art weavings have risen as they are rediscovered by a new generation. It’s well deserved – he was as important to the British post-war craft revival as Lucie Rie and Hans Coper – and in any home they look fantastic.”
