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Item Ships From: Europe
Bobyrug’s Beautiful Antique French Aubusson Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Wonderful mid century French Aubusson tapestry with beautiful design of nature with birds and beautiful natural colors, entirely hand woven ...
Category

Early 20th Century French Aubusson Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Gorgeous Antique Large 17th century Aubusson Tapestry historical battle scene
By Royal Manufacture of Aubusson
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful and rare 17th century French Aubusson tapestry with a nice design in style of Louis XVI, featuring a historical battle probably from Alexander or a Roman battle, conqu...
Category

17th Century French Aubusson Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Silk, Wool

Bobyrug’s Beautiful Vintage Hamadan Rug
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Nice midcentury rug with decorative geometrical design and nice colors, entirely hand knotted with wool velvet on cotton foundation. ✨✨✨ "Experience the epitome of luxury and crafts...
Category

Mid-20th Century Asian Rustic Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Fine Antique Tibetan Khaden Monastic Rug with Longevity Motifs
Located in Milan, IT
Finely hand knotted employing the best quality Tibetan highland wool, this exceptional khaden was commissioned as a sitting rug for a high ranked Tibetan Lama for monastic use. The u...
Category

Late 19th Century Tibetan Tibetan Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Bobyrug’s Pretty Éva Németh handwoven woollen tapestry, Hungary c1970s
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
This woven woollen tapestry features a design of stylised birds and flowers. It is woven in a heavyweight wool using mainly nature-inspired shades of sky blue, yellow and ecru highlighting the flowers and birds. It has the designer's initials NE in the lower right corner. c1970s Éva Németh...
Category

Mid-20th Century Hungarian Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Wonderful antique silk and golden metal Chinese rich Embroidery
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful and antique Chinese embroidery with beautiful design with birds, dogs, symbols and scriptures, and with nice natural colours with a red brown background, entirely hand...
Category

19th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Metal

Nani Marquina & Elisa Padrón 'Tres' Outdoor Rug in Ochre
By Nani Marquina & Elisa Padrón, Nani Marquina
Located in Tilburg, NL
Nani Marquina & Elisa Padrón 'Tres' Outdoor Rug. Current production, Spain. Tres Outdoor aims to transfer the warmth of the iconic Tres collection to the outdoor world. Made from...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Mid-Century Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Plastic

Mid-19th Century French Aubusson Manufactory Rug - Dim: 3m35x2m55 - N° 1532
By Aubusson Manufacture
Located in Paris, FR
Artist: Aubusson Manufactory, 19th Century Era: 19th Century Condition: Perfect Material: Wool Length: 255 cm Width: 335 cm Depth: 1 cm (with doubler) This magnificent rug, having b...
Category

Mid-19th Century French French Provincial Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Silk

Handwoven Moroccan Cream White Wool Rug with Geometric Motif
By Berber Tribes of Morocco
Located in Karis, Nyland
This handwoven Moroccan wool rug, measuring 303 x 224 cm, showcases the timeless artistry of Berber craftsmanship. Handwoven from 100% natural wool, the rug features a soft cream bas...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Moroccan Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Pretty vintage French Aubusson style Jacquard Tapestry « Hunting with hounds »
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
"Discover the timeless elegance of this exquisite vintage French tapestry featuring a hunting with hounds scene. A noble pastime and a favorite pastime of the great men of the time,...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Acrylic

Rya Rug Vintage Scandinavian
Located in Ferrara, IT
Vintage Scandinavian Rya Rug – Warm Geometric Tones 195 × 135 cm This vintage Scandinavian Rya rug measures 195 × 135 cm and embodies the bold artistic spirit of Nordic design from ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

28 x 14 ft Palace Size Rug in Style of Persian Tabriz by Djoharian Collection
Located in Lohr, Bavaria, DE
28 x 14 ft Palace Size Rug in Style of Persian Tabriz by Djoharian Collection A huge sized floral rug with design in style of Persian Tabriz Carpets. This beautiful rug was hand kno...
Category

2010s Afghan Oushak Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Contemporary Oval Rug with Geometric Pattern in Green Hues and Beige in Wool
By Hommes Studio
Located in Porto, PT
Tapis Shaped #030 also known as Zaid is a round rug by HOMMÉS Studio x TAPIS Studio. Its oval shape is ideal to add movement and liveness to a rectangular room. Zaid fragmented shape will make all eyes lay on the floor, so be sure that every detail has its own allure. This rug is the missing link...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Synthetic, Natural Fiber

Pure Silk Hereke Ozipek Turkish Rug Signed
Located in Lohr, Bavaria, DE
Very fine Turkish pure silk Hereke prayer rug from the famous Ozipek workshop. Hereke silk carpet Özipek rug Turkey  3.3 x 2.5 ft 100 x 76 cm Rare fine Hereke silk carpet, hand-knotted 1 million knots per m² / 654 kpsi. Design: Hereke Silk Medallion Material: Silk 100% Production method: Hand-knotted Length: 3.3 ft / 100 cm plus short kilim edge and fringes Width: 2.5 ft / 76 cm Shape: Rectangular Colors: brown-red, gold, beige, black Pile height: approx. 2 – 3 mm Knot density: per m² 1,000,000, kpsi 654 inch² A+ export quality Condition: Unused Made in Hereke, Türkiye by the Özipek workshop Usage: Tapestry, Floor Carpet Sustainable: Yes, from natural products Cleaning: vacuuming, otherwise only carpet cleaning by a specialist company Carpet stop: Generally recommended on smooth surfaces Underfloor heating: Yes, suitable Fair Trade: Yes, Label Step Fair Trade Carpets, no child labor, ecologically compatible production. We are Label Step Fair Trade Partners. Hereke silk carpets have always been among the exquisite works of art in carpet production. Its origins go back to the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I, who founded the Hereke Imperial Manufactory in 1841 to produce all the textiles for his Dolmabahçe Palace on the Bosphorus. Due to the friendship between the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire, there were plenty of contacts between the oriental art of weaving and European customers. As is well known, a particularly great admirer of Hereke carpets was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who brought an impressive collection of exquisite carpets from Hereke with him in 1894. In the 20th century Hereke has developed into the most important production site for exquisite silk carpets. Floral carpets and prayer rugs in sizes 90 x 60 cm, 120 x 80 cm, 150 x 100 cm and 200 x 130 cm are common. Larger carpets are also available, but due to their high price these are much rarer. Simple qualities in wool on cotton warp start with a knot density of approx. 300,000 knots per m², particularly fine pieces reach fineness of over 4,000,000 knots per m². A floral drawing or floral repeat is typical. Well-known weaving masters or manufacturers are Ozipek, Derin, Han Hali. Turkish Hereke silk rugs are the most exclusive and highly priced rugs of all silk rugs...
Category

20th Century Turkish Islamic Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Silk

Djoharian Collection Tiger Rug Wool Hand Knotted Antique Tibetan Design
By djoharian-design
Located in Lohr, Bavaria, DE
A Djoharian Collection Tiger rug, hand knotted in Nepal - 6.0 x 3.0 ft Origin: Nepal Pile material: 100% Wool Warp and weft: Cotton Design: Tiger Rug Length: 6.0 ft - 180 cm Width: ...
Category

2010s Nepalese Art Deco Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Abstract Geometric Carpet, Czechoslovakia, 1940s
Located in Praha, CZ
Large carpet with geometric pattern in style of Antonin Kybal. Made in Czechoslovakia in 1940s. Some damage by moth on the underside - not visible on the upper side.
Category

1940s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Bobyrug’s Wonderful Vintage Egyptian probably Wissa Wassef Woven Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Wonderful extra large Wissa Wassef school Egyptian tapestry with signature of the maker (Saiid Ghadi) with beautiful design of the garden of life, with be...
Category

Mid-20th Century Egyptian Tribal Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Fine and Rare Antique Saharan Mauritanian Tuareg Reed and Leather Rug
Located in Milan, IT
The carpets of the Tuareg, who are cattle herding nomads inhabiting a vast expanse of the Sahara desert, are among the most exciting group of weavings to appear on the market. These ...
Category

Early 20th Century Mauritanian Tribal Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Reed, Leather

Antique Heriz Carpet 3.96m x 2.93m
Located in St. Albans, GB
A fabulous antique Heriz carpet, hand woven circa 1920. The design features a large geometrical medallion on a raspberry red field and deep indigo border. Lovely secondary colours, e...
Category

1920s Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

1059, Caucasian Shirvan Carpet 19th Century
Located in Paris, FR
Nice 19th century shirwan rug with a beautiful pattern and pretty natural colors, entirely hand-knotted with wool pile on a wool base.
Category

1880s Azerbaijani Tribal Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Handmade Vintage Turkish Hereke Silk Rug 2.5' x 3.6', 1970s - 1N73
Located in Bordeaux, FR
Indulge in the luxurious artistry of this handmade vintage Turkish Hereke rug from the 1970s. Crafted entirely from silk, this exceptional piece showcases an intricate array of flora...
Category

1970s Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Silk

Handmade Antique Persian Nain Rug 3.9' x 5.4' 1920s - 1D182
Located in Bordeaux, FR
This charming antique Persian Nain rug from the 1920s is a fine example of Persian craftsmanship, celebrated for its intricate designs and high-quality materials. Made with a blend o...
Category

1920s Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Swedish Grey and Creme Rug, Handcrafted, 1950s
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish elegant grey and creme with geometric patterns. Made of wool. It is very soft and in excellent condition for its age. Designed and produced in the 1950s. All fringe are in go...
Category

1950s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Modern Memphis Style Irregular Shape Green Rug Hand-Tufted Circle Pattern
By Hommes Studio
Located in Porto, PT
Tapis Shaped 67 is a mid-century modern rug in green, gray, and black, the perfect color combination for timeless interiors. With a round shape, this mid-century modern rug in trend...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Natural Fiber

Vintage Red Rya rug by Ege Taepper 1970s
By Ege Rya
Located in Palermo, IT
Questo tappeto è un ottimo esempio di interni Pop Art degli anni '70. Made using the high-quality Danish Rya weaving technique by EGE Taeper in the 1960’s. Presenta un motivo psich...
Category

20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Fabric, Upholstery

Traditional Carpet Aubusson Style Area Rug Handwoven Wool Needlepoint
Located in Wembley, GB
This fantastic area rug has been handwoven with a beautiful asymmetrical floral design woven on a red background with cream-green and ivory accents. This elegant piece's colour and d...
Category

1990s British Aubusson Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Organic Material

Tappeto contract lana nylon rotondo sabbia organico by Deanna Comellini ø 240cm
By Deanna Comellini
Located in Bologna, IT
"Fluid" è un tappeto altamente performante scolpito a mano e progettato dalla designer Deanna Comellini, fondatrice e direttrice artistica del brand italiano G.T.DESIGN, pioniere nel...
Category

2010s Indian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Nylon

Very Beautiful Antique Pair of silk velvet Curtains
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Wonderful pair of curtains from late 19th century, with a nice silk velvet tissue and a needlepoint band applied on it. Size of each piece is 105x295 cm ✨✨✨ "Experience the epitome o...
Category

Late 19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Silk

Moon Sand Rug by Sitap Carpet Couture Italia
By Sitap Carpet Couture
Located in Milan, IT
An elegant handloom viscose luxury rug, this piece features a subtle half-moon silhouette inspired by lunar phases, achieved by shaving a line on the fleece. The almost-white viscose...
Category

2010s Italian Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Textile

Pretty antique Hungarian embroidery tissue
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Beautiful antique hungarian embroidered tissue fragment , with beautiful designs of flowers and with nice natural colours, entirely hand embroide...
Category

Early 19th Century Hungarian Aubusson Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Silk

Swedish Rug Minimalist Design OA Mollaianrugs Collection
Located in Ferrara, IT
Swedish Rug Signed OA Floral Elegance in Neutral Tones This beautiful Swedish flat-weave rug, signed "OA," showcases a refined elegance through its gentle, neutral color palette, fe...
Category

Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Tibetan Rug Dragon Design
Located in Ferrara, IT
This unique Tibetan rug with a dragon design measures 133 × 62 cm and stands out for both its symbolic richness and distinctive shape. Shaped in an hourglass or saddle form, it likel...
Category

19th Century Tibetan Tibetan Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Small Geometric Rug Handmade Grey Beige Carpet Rug Modern Wool Door Mat
Located in Wembley, GB
This fine wool mat is the perfect front or back door accessory. Woven by hand with fine wool and cotton that has been dyed with organic vegetable dyeing techniques. The design features a simple beige background with a modern square stripe design. Our mats are handmade, woven, not printed & are finished with a non-slip backing that keeps them in place to perform better than any other entrance mat made today. Suitable for both classic and contemporary home interiors. The Subtle rustic colours make this a great piece for any room in your home. Our team source only the finest interior accessories, with years of experience, let our team help you find the perfect accent pieces for your home interior. Our inventory includes a range of modern rugs, vintage rugs and antique rugs. With a huge range of colours and sizes available now. Small Geometric rug...
Category

2010s Chinese Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Natural Fiber, Organic Material

Djoharian Collection Palace size rug 25 x 22 ft from the movie Spencer 760 x 650
Located in Lohr, Bavaria, DE
Djoharian Collection Palace size rug 25 x 22 ft from the movie Spencer 760 x 650 Palatial oversized palace rug with natural dyes. A beautiful 25 x 22 ft. contemporary transitional ...
Category

2010s Afghan Oushak Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Beautiful antique silk Japanese Embroidery « the tigers »
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Nice antique Japanese embroidery with beautiful design with tigers, and with nice natural colours in hues of yellow, green, brown and black , entirely...
Category

Early 20th Century Japanese Chinoiserie Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Silk

Bobyrug’s Wonderful Antique Fine Exceptional Tekke Boukhara Rug
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful and fine antique Turkmen main Tekke Boukhara rug with nice geometrical design and beautiful natural colors, with brown, red, blue and orange, finely hand knotted with ...
Category

Late 19th Century Afghan Kazak Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

1960s Kilim Wool Rug, Czechoslovakia
Located in Praha, CZ
- good original condition with minor signs of use - Item has been cleaned.
Category

1960s Czech Mid-Century Modern Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

New Modern Abstract Design Wool and Silk Rug
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Wonderful modern design silk and wool rug with beautiful abstract design and nice colors, entirely and finely hand knotted with silk and wool velvet on cotton foundation.
Category

2010s Indian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Silk

Pretty Vintage Aubusson Style Jaquar Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very pretty Aubusson style tapestry with nice galant design and beautiful colors, woven with mechanical Jaquar looms with wool, acrylic and cotton. ✨✨✨ "Experience the epitome of lu...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Aubusson Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Acrylic

pretty Antique French Aubusson style Jacquard tapestry, chair or cushion cover
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
"Experience the timeless elegance of this exquisite fragment of an French Aubusson style tapestry, capturing the essence of a natural design , Woven on a Jacquard loom with wool. Ori...
Category

Early 20th Century French Aubusson Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Scandinavian Rug Rollakan Mollaianrugs Collection
Located in Ferrara, IT
Scandinavian Flat-Weave Rug 241 × 170 cm Nordic Symmetry This vintage Scandinavian flat-weave rug features a harmonious composition of soft yellows, muted olives, and ivory tones,...
Category

Mid-20th Century Scandinavian Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Swedish Mid-Century Rölakan Handwoven Wool Runner Carpet
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A Mid-Century Modern vintage handmade Swedish carpet in wool featuring a geometric pattern around the border in blue tones. This Scandinavian rug is more unusual because it is a runn...
Category

1960s Swedish Scandinavian Modern Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Square Vintage Rug, Chinese Art Deco Rug Oriental Handmade Navy Blue Carpet
Located in Wembley, GB
This exquisite navy-blue vintage rug is a mesmerizing piece that whispers tales of the past with every intricate knot. Handcrafted in the 1970s in the heart of China, this masterpiec...
Category

Late 20th Century Chinese Art Deco Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton, Organic Material

Cruise AP12 Rug, Bombay Golden Brown, Designed by All the Way to Paris for &T
Located in Dubai, AE
Crafted from high-quality wool with bamboo silk woven into it, the Cruise rug’s soft graphic identity is happy to play a supportive role to a room’s furnishings. It is available in t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Wonderful Vintage French Aubusson style Hand Printed Tapestry “ country concert”
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Concert Champêtre ( country concert ) Very beautiful mid century French Aubusson style tapestry with a beautiful 15th century tapestries design showing a scene in the countryside, ou...
Category

Mid-20th Century French Aubusson Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool, Cotton

Sweden, Rölakan runner in handwoven wool. Modernist design. Mid-20th century.
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Sweden, Rölakan runner in handwoven wool. Modernist design. Mid-20th century. In excellent condition. Dimensions: 250 cm x 77 cm.
Category

Mid-20th Century Swedish Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Modern Memphis Style Square Hand-Tufted Rug Green with White Circle Patterned
Located in Porto, PT
Tapis Shaped #047 is a Memphis Design style rug in murky green and off-white, a classic yet sophisticated color combination. With a rectangular shape and three small circles on each...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Natural Fiber

Vintage Rare Room Size Black Ground Bessarabian Kilim with Botanical Pattern
Located in Milan, IT
The kilims known as 'Bessarabian' were woven in the Russian regions of Ukraine and Moldovia. Intended to satisfy the demands of the Russian aristocracy at a time when continental int...
Category

1940s Ukrainian Bessarabian Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Antique French Art Deco Cubist Design Rug Attributed to Ivan da Silva Bruhns
By Ivan da Silva Bruhns
Located in Milan, IT
The rare examples which can be attributed to Ivan da Silva Bruhns (1881-1980) are among the most sought after French Art Deco carpets. Characterized by geometric elements clearly inf...
Category

1920s French Art Deco Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Modernist Aubusson Rug in the Neo Baroque Style Signed JF
By André Arbus
Located in Milan, IT
One of the main trajectories of French Modernism was dedicated towards a revival of a classical iconography. Motivated from a reaction towards the often rigid and austere mood of the...
Category

1930s French Baroque Revival Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Cruise AP11 Rug, Bombay Golden Brown, Designed by All the Way to Paris for &T
Located in Dubai, AE
Crafted from high-quality wool with bamboo silk woven into it, the Cruise rug’s soft graphic identity is happy to play a supportive role to a room’s furnishings. It is available in t...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Indian Scandinavian Modern Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Handmade Vintage Persian Qum Rug 7.5' x 10.9' (228cm x 331cm), 1960s - 1N52
Located in Bordeaux, FR
This handmade vintage Persian Qum rug from the 1960s is a remarkable example of fine craftsmanship and timeless design. Measuring 7.5 ft x 10.9 ft (228 cm x 331 cm), this wool rug is...
Category

1960s Vintage Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Beautiful Antique Caucasian Multicolor Wool Sumak Sileh Kilim Carpet, 1880-1900
Located in Ferrara, IT
An antique Soumac Zelleh kelleh, South Caucasus! The rust field with hooked panels and vertical columns of large ivory and blue angular S-motifs containing stylized small bird motif...
Category

Late 19th Century Caucasian Kazak Antique Europe - Rugs and Carpets

Materials

Wool

Tapestry Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period 1738 at the Gobelins
By Aubusson Manufacture
Located in Madrid, ES
Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy. The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber Windsor Castle The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736) “and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7) A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity. Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success. The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther. The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated. An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography. The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess. Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues. He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience. Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737. Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738). De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet). The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”. The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France. 29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished. During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court. On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine. As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony). The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772. Literature: 1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later. 2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed. 3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale. 4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265. 5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103). 6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure. 7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55. 8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53). 9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54. 10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54). 11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269. 12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241. Catalogue The Esther at her Toilet Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.). Related Works: Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation. Summary Biography 1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle. 1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. 1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa. 1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July. 1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King). 1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy. 1720: He is appointed Professor. 1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...
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