By CHENGDI CARPET | 11 March 2021 | 0 Comments
What is a Savonnerie carpet and how is it made?
The Savonnerie got its start when Henri IV (King of France from 1589 to 1610) became alarmed by how rapidly the national treasury was being depleted by the importation of Oriental rugs and luxury textiles from the east to satisfy the growing appetite for these goods among his nobles who were keen to emulate the extravagant furnishings of the royal palaces. Henri decided to stop the drain of French silver by setting up the manufacture of Oriental Carpets within France and by reviving the manufacture of the French indigenous luxury products the making of which had declined during the civil strife caused by the Wars of Religion.
Henri IV asked Pierre DuPont, who had traveled in the Levant, to start the manufacture of carpets and provided him with workshop space within the Louvre palace itself.
In 1627 Louis XIII (King of France from 1610 to 1643) granted DuPont and his former apprentice Simon Lourdet an eighteen year monopoly for making carpets. DuPont and Lourdet eventually quarreled and Lourdet set up a separate carpet workshop in a disused soap factory (French savon) and the rugs made there became known as Savonnerie rugs.
These early Savonnerie carpets were made of wool and are made in the Ghiordes knot (also known as the Turkish knot). In the beginning they made copies of Persian rugs, but eventually a distinctive French style emerged featuring dense flowers and leafy vines inspired by patterns found in the friezes of classical Roman buildings as well as pictorial or armorial framed medallions all enclosed within multiple borders. The background colors were deep blue, black and deep brown. The medallions and borders could have cream backgrounds.
Henri IV asked Pierre DuPont, who had traveled in the Levant, to start the manufacture of carpets and provided him with workshop space within the Louvre palace itself.
In 1627 Louis XIII (King of France from 1610 to 1643) granted DuPont and his former apprentice Simon Lourdet an eighteen year monopoly for making carpets. DuPont and Lourdet eventually quarreled and Lourdet set up a separate carpet workshop in a disused soap factory (French savon) and the rugs made there became known as Savonnerie rugs.
These early Savonnerie carpets were made of wool and are made in the Ghiordes knot (also known as the Turkish knot). In the beginning they made copies of Persian rugs, but eventually a distinctive French style emerged featuring dense flowers and leafy vines inspired by patterns found in the friezes of classical Roman buildings as well as pictorial or armorial framed medallions all enclosed within multiple borders. The background colors were deep blue, black and deep brown. The medallions and borders could have cream backgrounds.
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