What Is Savonnerie Carpet

The savonnerie manufactory was moved to the gobelins in paris in 1826.

What is savonnerie carpet.

Today as then savonnerie designs follow the french style with framed medallions or coats of arms flowers densely packed in bouquets or leafy foliage. This technique is so artistically demanding it has never been copied by the rug weavers of the east and even today only european rugs such as aubusson savonnerie and needlepoints have three dimensional patterns. The elegant design of prized savonnerie rugs that once graced the palaces of europe is masterfully recreated for today s classy home decor. Carpet production in small privately owned workshops in the town of aubusson began in 1743.

Savonnerie carpet french pile floor covering usually large whether made at the savonnerie workshop or made in that manner and style the savonnerie factory on the site of a former soap factory hence the name was established in paris in 1627 at the hospice de la savonnerie at chaillot by royal order to provide pile carpets for use in the king s palaces and as royal gifts. The cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted pile carpets made at other centers the manufactory had its immediate origins in a carpet manufactory established in a former soap factory french savon on the quai de chaillot downstream of. Cream and blue aubusson carpet in french provincial style dining room with. The savonnerie carpet factory was created in the disused soap factory in french savon hence the name on the quai de chaillot in paris in 1615 by pierre dupont.

The savonnerie rugs played an important role in the prestigious french furniture s history. Savonnerie definition is of relating to or being a handmade one piece french carpet with a pile or a similarly woven tapestry. In the 17th century french artists and weavers invented the art of weaving rugs with depth perspective. The savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious european manufactory of knotted pile carpets enjoying its greatest period c.

Louis xiii developed the savonnerie manufactory by positioning the workshops along the banks of the seine at the foot of the hill of chaillot in the buildings of a former soap factory hence the name savonnerie that has since made carpet according to the knotted carpet technique. The legacy of the savonnerie manufactory was a great one. The beauvais manufactory better known for their tapestry also made knotted pile carpets from 1780 to 1792. He gifted a collection of music themed savonnerie creations to the ambassador of siam where they stayed intact and in use for hundreds of years.

Fortunately the savonnerie carpet had recently been cleaned and repaired so it was capable of withstanding relatively rigorous cleaning procedures origin late 19th century french savonnerie literally soap factory referring to the original building on the site converted to carpet manufacture.