Mary Jo Otsea

Mary Jo Otsea, who joined the firm in 1983, is a Senior Vice President and WorldwideDirector of the Carpet Department. In this capacity, she is responsible for four major rug sales a year, two each in London and New York. Carpets are also offered in Americana, Continental and Fine French Furniture sales throughout the year. As an auctioneer, she presides over fine carpet and furniture auctions.

During her tenure in the department, she has been involved in achieving the world record price at auction for a carpet with the $5,458,500 sale of The Pearl Carpet of Baroda on March 19, 2009 in Doha, Qatar. On the same day in Qatar, she oversaw the sale of a Safavid silk velvet figural panel from 17th century Persia for $3,442,500. She has also been involved in several important sales, including the highly successful sale of Carpets from the Estate of Vojtech Blau on December 14, 2006 which doubled its estimates bringing a total of nearly $5,000,000.

In the fall of 2005, a Safavid carpet from the Collection of Lily and Edmond J. Safra sold for $2,000,000. In previous years highlights have included a Louis XIV Savonnerie carpet which sold for $1,210,000 on May 21, 1992, as well as the sale of Carpets from the J. Paul Getty Museum.

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Ms. Otsea spent a year studying in France and is fluent in French. Originally from Los Angeles, she grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, and attended the International School there. She has published an article on Caucasian rugs in Sotheby's International Price Guide and she has contributed to Hali, the international journal of carpets and textiles. She has been on the judging panel for the International Carpet and Textile fairs held in London and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.