Antique Axminster Carpet
N°
00073
Period
Circa 1860
Origin
England, Great Britain
Materials
Wool
Status
Available
Size
475 cm x 22915'7" x 7'6"
Following the closure of the Axminster manufactory in Devonshire in 1835, the demand for floral carpets made in the Rococo revival style was supplied by the Wilton Royal Carpet Factory, located in Salisbury, although the term ‘Axminster’ was still employed for the finest quality pieces, particularly for those woven from 1860 onwards, when Alfred Lapworth bought the factory from the Blackmore family (see S.B. Sherrill, Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America (New York, 1995): 231-232). While the design borrows considerably from the French Savonnerie repertoire, the two-tone colouration reminds us of certain eighteenth century architectural drawings, and has an understated feeling that is characteristic of English carpets.
Antique Textile Art III' by Alberto Levi