Antique Savonnerie carpet (France) – 361

Description

Antique Savonnerie carpet (France)

Period: 19th century
Dimensions: 350 x 440 cm

The Savonnerie manufactory, Europe’s most prestigious maker of hand-knotted carpets, started life in 1626 in a disused soap factory (savonnerie in French) near Paris, which was converted into a carpet factory in the first half of the 17th century by Pierre DuPont. Some of the early models broadly imitated Persian carpet design, but the Savonnerie style quickly established itself with more distinctively French designs, such as framed medallions, bunches of flowers and luxuriant foliage, generally on a pastel background.
This large Savonnerie carpet is dominated by various shades of pink, alternating with the cream colour of the central medallion and the scrolls on the border. Ton-sur-ton arabesques and bouquets of flowers complete the pattern.