Written on the occasion of the May 1922 gift of the James F. Ballard Collection to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, this catalogue illustrates and discusses the 125 ancient carpets from Persia, India, Turkey, The Caucasus, Central Asia, and Spain included in this gift which span from the fifteenth to the early nineteenth century. A short introduction covers the history of rug weaving and a brief discussion of rugs from each region represented.

Considered to be without peer among American private collections of old masters, the Wrightsman Collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture is here catalogued by two of the most distinguished authorities in the field and fully illustrated in black-and-white and color. Volume V completes the series, Volumes I and II having been devoted to furniture and gilt bronze; Volumes III and IV to snuffboxes, silver, porcelain, and other objects of decorative art. An introduction by John Walker, Director Emeritus of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., gives a fascinating history of the way in which the Wrightsman Collection has been built up and refined; Sir John Pope-Hennessy, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, provides an authoritative introduction to the sculpture section. Each entry includes a large-size illustration of the object (all the paintings are in full color) as well as many detailed views and comparable examples; the text is made up of a biography of the artist, physical description, provenance, and scholarly discussion, as well as a listing of other versions, exhibitions, references, and technical notes.