Vintage French Art Deco Gray Handwoven Wool Rug BB5283 11'0" × 15'8" $60,000

This vintage circa 1930 French Deco area rug features abstract patterns and curlicues on a field of grayish-green. The European Deco carpet borrows its design from a revolutionary art movement and is an intriguing collector’s item. The social upheaval and industrialization changes of the 20th century spawned an abstract, innovate form of art that inspired both fashion and home décor, with avant-garde French fashion designers like Pierre Cardin contributed their innovative style to textiles as well.

The supreme elegance of European Art Deco rugs custom set an example for interior designers the world over, delivering a dramatic change of style to furnishings in general, and early 20th century vintage rugs and antique carpets in particular. Decorative arts of this period, sometimes known as the Machine Age, are characterized by a streamlined appearance which can be seen in this European Deco vintage carpet.

Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. The Art Deco movement led to a fast evolution of the rug and textile design, among other art forms. Rug design evolved from traditional floral and highly ornamental to a style of angular elegance with geometric, abstract and modern figurative motifs. The design is frequently spare, geometric, and architectural. The rugs created during this period remain elegant and refined to this day.