Mid-century Swedish Blue, Brown, White and Yellow Rug BB5301 6'4" × 9'4" $11,000

This circa-1940 vintage Swedish rug consists of geometric abstractions and modernist takes on floral imagery; it is the mechanization and stylization of nature. The dominant color is blue, which is light in the field, darker within the atypical main border, and darkest outside of it. Antique carpets and rugs such as this vintage Scandinavian carpet have been handmade from knotted wool in Sweden for centuries, taking on many different forms and functions over the course of time.

Eventually, Swedish rug-makers would begin to use Oriental rug-making techniques while incorporating themes and motifs more consistent with the artistic and cultural heritage of Sweden. By the beginning of the twentieth century, designers began to make vintage area rugs that had a broad international appeal. Swedish rugs from the mid-twentieth century, endorsed by such modernist greats as Le Corbusier, Ray Eames and Frank Lloyd Wright, remain among the most desirable and sought after in the area rug world.