This article is part of Jozan Magazine’s ongoing series of personal portraits from the oriental rug world, highlighting the experiences and perspectives of dealers, researchers, and experts.
David Sorgato is an antique rug and textile dealer based in Milan, with a lifelong connection to the trade through both family and personal experience. He is also the rug expert for the auction house Wannenes.
I was born into a mixed family—my father Italian, my mother Iranian. My grandfather on my mother’s side was an antiques dealer, and in the 1960s he encouraged my uncles, who were studying in Florence, to open a carpet shop. My grandmother already had a gallery for Islamic art.
My father took a similar path. He opened a gallery in Milan in 1967—the year I was born—working with carpets, while my mother specialized in Roman glass and Oriental art. So from the very beginning, I was surrounded by it all. I grew up breathing dust, quite literally. My father took me along on his buying trips to London, Paris, and the United States.
What fascinated me most weren’t just the carpets themselves, but the people. There was something captivating about the characters in this trade—people from all over the world, who knew how to combine business with laughter, good food, and good wine. That balance of life and work—that’s what hooked me.
Over the years I had the chance to study and handle almost every kind of knotting technique imaginable. Thanks to those early experiences and to the many remarkable figures I met in the rug world, I developed an instinct for changing markets and trends. It’s something I still rely on today.
For some time now, I’ve been especially focused on small-format pieces. They’re easier to incorporate into modern interiors—and just as easy to hang on a wall. Tibetan knotted art is a particular passion, and I’ll soon be presenting an exhibition that will make an impact.
I’ve handled many memorable rugs—some sold to major dealers back when I was still young. But one piece that really taught me something about negotiation and value was a round Mamluk carpet, now in Doha.
Of course, the market has changed drastically. There are far fewer real dealers left. And soon, I fear, there will be almost no one with firsthand experience—the kind that comes from years of seeing, touching, and learning. Antique material is finite, and the well is running dry.
This shortage has unfortunately opened the door to deception. Entirely re-knotted pieces are being passed off as antique and sold as such. It’s a shame.
Today’s collectors, in my view, are far removed from what the word should mean. They often speak like professors, but many haven’t seen enough rugs to truly understand them. Book knowledge exists, sure—but it’s very different from handling, analyzing, and buying with the eye of a dealer.
What keeps me going is the community of serious merchants I still have around me—people I’ve known since childhood. With them, little has changed. A word, a handshake, even a glance still carries weight.
Thanks to my father’s reputation and longstanding relationships, I’m often contacted by important families in Italy who own significant pieces. That means I still have access to rare and sometimes previously unknown carpets. And of course, as the rug expert for Wannenes, I continue to see and discover even more.
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Interview conducted by Ivan Sønderholm for Jozan Magazine. Translated and edited with permission from David Sorgato.
David Sorgato Gallery: LOUMI s.r.l., Via Sant’Orsola, 13, 20123 Milano, Italy
Phone: +39 02 8645 3592
Website: www.davidsorgato.com