Vintage Swedish Flat Woven Rug BB4802 2'6" × 4'6" $5,000

The checkered blue, green, and yellow allover pattern of this Swedish flatwoven vintage rug allow it to serve as an easy way to incorporate color into a design scheme without the antique rug competing with other patterned elements. Signed lower right.

Although the designs of antique and vintage Scandinavian rugs were originally inspired by imported textiles, they gradually developed into an innately northern expression. Simple geometric patterns and vignettes from everyday life such as bouquets of flowers, a child’s sampler or a pet dog were incorporated into flat woven tapestries or Swedish pile rugs and carpets, adding charm and immediacy to this folk art. A fresh and appealing aesthetic was sustained during the first half of the twentieth century by the weavings of the celebrated Swedish carpet designer Marta Maas-Fjetterstrom and her circle. The simplicity and purity of design in vintage Scandinavian rugs gives them an immediate relevance and contemporary desirability.