New exhibition - Oriental carpets

Montagu constantly surprises with the completely unexpected. We recently met Deryl Barlow, a woman with a great love for and knowledge of Persian and other oriental carpets.  She kindly agreed to put together a collection of vintage carpets, some of which will be for sale, with an accompanying lecture on the history, process of production and meaning  of this ancient art form.

Deryl Barlow holds a BSc, BSc Hons (cum laude)  and MSc (cum laude) as well as a Postgraduate Higher Education Diploma, a Diploma in Ethology (Animal Behaviour), a Diploma in Project Management and is currently studying Classical Islam.

Her formal professional career covered teaching and lecturing in various scientific disciplines, environmental advisor to the government and environmental risk assessment for financiers of large development projects in Africa.  Her hobbies included breeding greyhounds, Arabian horses and Thoroughbred racehorses, training horses up to high school dressage level , dog and horse showing.  She has always been interested in things from the Desert, religion,  hunting dogs, horses and carpets.  Her knowledge of carpets is largely self-taught although she also learnt from famous carpet dealers such as Mr Ravat.  Conversion to Islam enhanced her interest in the religious symbolism of the Persian carpet, especially that of tribal carpets.  Since she retired to Montagu, she decided to further develop this interest and knowledge, as well as to assist and educate people who would like to own a piece of such an ancient and beautiful art form to do so at a reasonable price.