About Us

To look at beautiful carpets makes us use our eyes and see the world anew.

Our founder and principal, John Keeney has been active in carpet collection for 55 years. He bought his first Persian carpet at age 17. He traces his interest in the subject to his infancy, having learned to crawl, then walk, fascinated, on an antique Kerman in his parent’s home, in Seattle.

Across a varied career in international business, (publishing, fintech)  he and his wife , Audrey avidly collected, traded and sold antique carpets, with an accent on scholarship, and the history of weaving.

This approach was applied as well to other areas. They funded several dealers in the importation of very fine French antique furniture and lighting fixtures from South America to Australia, across the 1980’s.

 In 2012, they donated a major collection of New Guinean and Asmat art to the distinguished Museum of South Australia, compiled and curated over 20 years. They also made sales of rare American Jazz artist photographs to the Smithsonian Institute, and elsewhere.

American, he lived for 10 years in Paris and London, following a year in Hong Kong. In London with his Singaporean wife Audrey, an industrial designer, he ran a successful hobby business devoted to Asian Art in Portobello Road.

Antique carpets has remained their foremost collecting interest area.

They moved to Sydney to raise a family and after many years relocated to Brisbane, on Moreton Bay.

He observes: “The many rug dealers we have had the great pleasure of knowing around the world were either born into the business, or like us and others who started young, spontaneously, just couldn’t resist it, somehow . We are still captivated by antique carpets and the second golden age of weaving, the 19th century and the deeper histories. We were a bit snobbish.  

 But views expand. Now it is also about artistic achievement. There is perhaps not enough discussion on interesting work in the 20th century and current handmade work of integrity, the revival activities and so on, worthwhile projects in say Nepal, Morocco, Turkey and elsewhere.  Nor probably did the past narratives focus enough on the art, it was dominated by origins and locations, much of it bewildering for the buyer.

The question always remains: Why is this good or great art? Not much, little or nothing to do with where it came from.

The dealer has a role in educating the interested public, some kind of obligation to art and the new- as long as it is good.  So I think there is a need for a knowledgeable provider to tackle this wider area, including Persian and Central Asian antiques and engage more broadly, with a focus on art. Its necessary in this work to think like a designer, in terms of a single piece and where it will ultimately go.  Good art is important and deserves support. These philosophies emerged steadily as the vision for this endeavour.

Fine Art Carpets depends upon and congratulates its vigorous staff of dedicated researchers in Brisbane. They are the heart of this enterprise. “