Jimmy Page and the Holy Grail

Paul Reeves, a London fashion designer in the seventies, has a sale with Sotheby's this month: “The Best of British: Design from the 19th and 20th centuries.”

Paul Reeves has been described as the man who dressed Led Zeppelin in the 1970's. As a connoisseur of Led Zeppelin's 70's clothing, I find it hard to believe that anyone would want to take credit for it, but ooookaaay, as they say these days. Now he's an art specialist. I hoped that he did not bring the same aesthetic to his art collection, and he does not seem to have done so. He has solicited items from a number of his rockist friends, and one item at the auction is a beautiful tapestry from Jimmy Page's collection. It is a 24-foot long piece called "The Quest of the Holy Grail: The Achievement", by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones. It was rolled up for some time after hanging in Page's Windsor House for many years. I can't really show the colors and sweep of this Pre-Raphaelite tapestry in the little photos allowed on a blog, so here is a small teaser.



I've seen a photo of it in situ, behind the billiard table, and it is immense. Apparently it took three weavers two years to complete, finishing in 1894. There are a number of other Page items on the block. You can download the catalogue from Sotheby's.