Rare Art Deco Savonnerie Rug by Paul Poiret BB7781 6'0" × 9'9" $20,000

A fine wool rug, hand-knotted for S.S. Ile de France at the Atelier Martine in Paris in the 1930’s. The decades between 1910 and 1940 marked the golden age of luxurious ocean liners that carried passengers between European ports and the American continent. The present rug has adorned one of the first class cabins of the luxury ship S.S. Ile de France. The rug design, by famed Parisian couturier Paul Poiret, is a classic example of Art Deco exuberance. Ample blooms in marigold, blond, lavender, blushed pink, and sage green and scattered around a rich black background within a simple blond frame.

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.