Vintage French Art Deco Green Handmade Wool Rug BB4961 8'2" × 12'8" $40,000

A French Art Deco antique carpet signed SG in the lower right corner and attributed to Suzanne Guiguichon with 3 abstract winged bird shapes incorporated into a central design bordered by diagonal lines. Ivory on a soft clear green field.

European Art Deco rugs for the western market were originally made in countries such as India, Persia and Turkey. As the industrial revolution created a new merchant class, antique decorative rugs were a sought-after status symbol demonstrating wealth and good taste. Watch any period film set in the late 19th or early 20th centuries and you will almost certainly see an oriental vintage rug on the floor.

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.