Antique French Aubusson Carpet BB7389 9'1" × 18'8" $55,000

A late 19th century antique French Aubusson rug, having panels and sprays of roses and flowering leaves overall on the chocolate field within the soft green cartouche borders.

Many weavers who settled in France were Huguenots who had fled Spain during the Inquisition in the early sixteenth century. By issuing the edict of Nantes, Henry IV granted all non-Catholics freedom of worship, thereby protecting the carpet in French weavers in Aubusson. Aubusson weavers became the finest craftsmen in the world. Louis XIV’s influential Prime Minister Colbert established the long and hard apprenticeship necessary to obtain the title “Master of Tapestry” . Even today, the center in Aubusson, under control of the French Ministry of Arts, is busily producing carpets and European Rugs of the most exquisite quality. Antique Savonnerie and Aubusson antique rugs and carpetsare considered to be among the finest examples of carpet production undertaken in Europe over the past 350 years.