AUBUSSON RUGS


The history of the Aubusson rug goes back to the Renaissance period in a small town, 200 miles from Paris.In the thirteenth century, most likely the Flemish refugees in Aubusson, set up the looms to create these ornate woven rugs, but it wasn't until the sixteenth century that these looms made the Tapestry rugs.. Rug production ceased In Creuse 130 years ago, but it was considered to be the center of Europe's rug industry at one time. To this day the town hosts many rug and tapestry exhibitions annually.

A major part of the revival in the arts were the weaving of the Aubusson rugs with their Turkish Tapestry like appearance. They were a hand woven flat weave made of wool. After 1665 they started designing them based on the motifs of Savonnerie rugs. Prior to this time, Savonnerie rugs were only available to the King. King Henry IV desired the beautiful rugs that the French knights had brought back fronm the Crusades in the thirteenth century. But they were expensive rarities so he commissioned a weaver named Pierre Dupont to set up a shop in the Louvre. Henry IV was so pleased with Dupont's rugs that before his death in 1610 he declared that the rugs were for the exclusive use of the royal family.

Henry IV son Louis XIII had Dupont, in 1627, open a new shop at the Savonnerie soap works factory. It was not until 1672 that the shop in the Louvre was transferred to the Savonnerie. Once the exclusive rights of the rugs to the royal family was rescinded and the importing of real Orientals no longer forbidden, the weavers in Aubusson began turning out Savonnerie rugs. With these Aubusson rug designs mimicking the Savonnerie rug designs, they became available to the upper class and aristocracy of Europe.

It should be noted that the Aubusson rugs contained less knots than the Savonnerie. This made them lighter in weight and more affordable. The first flat Aubusson rugs, woven like a tapestry, seem to have appeared in about 1768. The long history of Aubusson rugs came to an end around 1870 when production of these rugs ceased in Aubusson. However, for over 200 years the weavers in Aubusson continued to produce hand woven rugs that were revered throughout Europe.

At Oriental Rug Care we treat your Oriental or area rug as if it was on these Renaissance masterpieces. We hand wash all of the rugs that come to our 5000 square feet facility. Only highly trained technicians will clean your rug. We also hand repair many rugs. Please visit our website and see for yourself what a true hand washing facility is.