October 30, 2007
Rugs
We can credit the Crusaders and the Moors for introducing rugs to Europe in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. It wasn’t until the 17th century when the French broke away from the traditional Persian designs. Louis XIV commissioned the Royal Savonnerie and Aubusson workshops to create spectacular new designs to decorate the Royal Palaces. These new rug designs took on intricate floral rose themes and designs that mirrored the ornately decorated palace ceilings.
By the late 17th Century the two main textures available were flat woven, blanket like rugs and knotted rugs that had a conventional pile. In Scandinavia they were also hand knotting shaggy pile rugs that were used as warm bed cloths and as prayer mats at weddings.
The 18th Century saw the development of the Wilton loom; this weaving method combined with a Jacquard gave us a patterned carpet, faster and more efficiently. Today’s Wilton looms are based on the same weaving technique.
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