The auction Fine & Decorative Interiors including Jewellery features an interesting group of Georgian, Regency and Victorian furniture and objects formerly in the collection of Nora Ziegler (1888-1969), granddaughter of the founder of the renowned firm of carpet manufacturers and merchants, Ziegler & Co.
Nora’s father, Theodore Philip (1863-1943) was born in Charpigny, Switzerland, he became a British citizen in April 1889, with his address on the accompanying documentation given as 46 Sackville Street, the central Manchester premises from which Ziegler & Co. operated, notes also refer to his Swiss parents, Philip and Blanch, both also born in Charpigny. Theodore was aged twenty five at the time and was designated a merchant, he was married and his daughter Nora was 11 months old. Later, the 1901 census shows that the Zieglers were now living in Ardwick, roughly a mile from the city centre, and the family had grown with the addition of Evelyn and Philip Harold, two and four years younger than Nora respectively. The household also included a governess, a cook, a waitress and several serving staff. Nora’s brother, Philip, was baptised in July 1893 at St. Chrysostom’s church, Victoria Park, with the family home stated as Lilly Villa, the house had been built in 1868 and the Pevsner Guide for Manchester describes it as in ‘eclectic Italianate style’. During the second half of the 19th century Victoria Park became home to a number of politicians and artists: Charles Halle, founder of the Halle Orchestra, and the painter Ford Maddox Brown lived on Addison Terrace, about a mile from Lilly Villa, and from the 1890s the Pankhurst family resided in the area. Along with so many young men of the era, Philip Harold fought in World War I, he saw active service in France and was granted a commission in July 1916, but on 23 September of that year he succumbed to sustained wounds, his final resting place is Avesnes-le-Comte cemetery in the Pas-de-Calais department of northern France.
Ziegler & Co. was established as a carpet manufacturer through renewed interest in the Middle and Far East, as presented to large numbers of consumers through major events such as the Great Exhibition, 1862, held in London, and fuelled by travel literature with its stories of exotic and mystical remote lands. As a result, Persian carpets were in demand and although retailed by department stores, notably Liberty & Company, they were invariably long and narrow, suitable for urban Persian rooms rather than the expansive spaces of new Victorian homes. Persian manufacturers picked up on the dilemma and soon their output shifted to reflect Western tastes. Ziegler & Co. had existing and established business connections in Turkey and Persia through the export of printed cottons from their English-based firm and by the late 19th century they had set up their own looms in Persia, the first European business to do so. Ziegler & Co. used ready-dyed wools, large looms and offered a regular wage to local workers and through this attracted and retained a loyal group of experienced weavers. Workshops and offices were established in Sultanabad (now Arak), the depth and influence of operations there led to the town becoming known as ‘Fort Ziegler’. Ziegler carpets featured balanced and symmetrical designs, working to the scale of a room, with subtle patterns giving the sense of open space and elegance. As distinct from traditional Persian carpets, fewer colour combinations were used and the carpets had a high pile, making them soft to the touch and creating the sense of visual warmth. Fittingly the auction includes a Ziegler carpet, lot 46, displaying characteristic aesthetics, delicate colouring and generous proportions, (est. £2,000-3,000 +fees).
Lot 25, a George III satinwood, marquetry and tulipwood banded demi-lune commode is attributed to Gillows, and this can be made due to its similarity in materials, design and construction to the documented Workington Commode supplied by Gillows to John Christian Curwen MP (1756-1828). Both commodes are veneered in satinwood and banded in purplewood and incorporate similar marquetry shells, while the shell decoration on our commode is more complex the Workington Commode features highly unusual figurative panels. The commodes both have the same ‘French’ feet, overhanging tops and identical detailed chevron banding. The coloured design for the Workington commode appears in the Gillow Estimate Sketch book for 1788 and is reproduced in L. Boynton, Gillow Furniture Designs 1760-1800, Hertfordshire 1995, colour plate 12.
The Regency era is represented by lots 42, a pair of small footstools (est. £40-60 + fees), 43, a kingwood sofa (est. £200-300 +fees) and 79, a mahogany and satinwood inlaid tea caddy (est. £80-120 +fees).
Lot 93, an etched and gilded glass ewer, decorated with parrots, butterflies and ferns (est. £250-350 +fees), lot 179, a fine carved mahogany open armchair in the Sheraton style (est. £40-60 +fees) and lot 204, a pretty burr walnut and floral marquetry kidney shaped writing table in the manner of Gillows all date from the Victorian period.
The ‘PZ’ monogram for Philip Ziegler is used on lot 234 (est. £300-500 +fees) an impressive and large suite of French glass goblets with gilded rims, possibly produced by the maker Baccarat (image showing on the blog landing page). Two cut glass claret jugs, lot 125, by Elkington & Co., Birmingham, (est. £400-600 +fees) also bear the initials ‘PZ’ engraved on shields held by lions which top their hinged lids. The firm was founded in the 1830s, Queen Victoria was an important client, and it is frequently referenced as one of the 19th century’s most significant silversmiths.
We do not have many details on the life of Nora Ziegler, we know that the electoral roll of 1958 shows her living in St Johns Wood, London, and that at the time of her passing she was still living in the same area, but at a different address. Nora left a collection of Iranian ceramics to the British Museum, London, where she is styled as a ‘descendant of a family of carpet manufacturers…who helped redevelop the Iranian carpet industry…’ | View the collection of Iranian ceramics here. Nora also bequeathed a child’s rocking chair by Michael Thonet to the V&A Museum, London. Dated circa 1865 its bentwood frame and canework seat and back are characteristic of Thonet’s output | View the rocking chair here
The name Ziegler of course perpetuates – Ziegler carpets with their uncluttered patterns and understated colour combinations continue to be highly sought-after in today’s market.
Fine & Decorative Interiors including Jewellery | Online bidding closes from 5pm Thursday 24 April 2025
View the full auction here
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