The King’s Will
In 1608 Henry IV Bourbon decided that France will be producing manually woven rugs. And indeed that was what happened. There was no other way. The initiative of king Bourbon became a fact. As a result, Parisian artists started to create rugs and send them all over the world. However, it wasn’t the French who came up with the idea of area rugs. They got their inspiration from Turkish rugs. They used them as templates and created symmetrical knots during the process of weaving.
The History of French Area Rugs
In 1628, the production of rugs moved from Paris to the closed factory of soap – Savonnerie. Those rugs were mostly ornamented with flowers. The ornaments formed different types of vases and baskets. Also, there were military motives, although they weren’t popular. People have always preferred flowers. In 1826, the production of the French area rugs came back to the capital city. Gobelins – the royal factory producing tapestries – became the new production center.
More Than Savonnerie Rugs
There is more to the history of French area rugs than Henry IV and the French Savonnerie Rugs. In 1742, in the city of Aubusson, in a private workshop, people started producing hand-woven rugs. Like every other French rug, they also had motifs characteristic of Turkish rugs.
Nowadays France doesn’t produce hand-woven rugs, and Savonnerie and Aubusson styles are copied in the countries like Pakistan, India, and certainly China. Despite the fact that the French no longer produce them, it is not impossible to buy them. Hand-woven rugs are definitely worth their price. If only there is enough money in someone’s pockets, he or she can surely find an appropriate rug model which will make their home even more beautiful.
Today, you can admire the most famous Savonnerie French area rugs in the Louvre.