Beauvais

The carpets woven by the Whitty family at Axminster during the 18th and early 19th century are without a doubt amongst the most historically significant examples of pile-knotted carpet weaving in the Western hemisphere. Although today, French carpets from the Savonnerie and Aubusson are generally better known and recognized than Axminsters, the artistic importance of these English carpets deserve more serious attention and appreciation. The genius of the Whitty family and their Axminster looms is that they were not followers, but leaders in creating an exciting new expression in the carpet arts wholly in keeping with English design traditions. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Axminster carpets enjoyed world renown and Whittyjtml1s clientele went far beyond the British nobility and gentry. During this period the Axminster looms wove carpets for the King of Naples, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and wealthy Southern planters and Northern merchants in America. Interestingly, Axminster and Aubusson were the only Western workshops to have long-term success in creating pile-knotted carpets. In England, style did not emanate from a central influential source. Design innovations were developed by the leading architects, designers, craftsman and dilettante gentry who were exposed to broad array of international artistic styles through their jaunts on the ‘Grand Tour.jtml1 The Axminster workshop was brilliant at adapting their designs in promoting this eclectic English taste. The carpet presented here is a wonderful example of one of the manifestations of neoclassicism created in the Axminster workshops. In this carpet the Classical motifs are treated with a fuller drawing and scale and richer coloration than the Robert Adam design neoclassical carpets usually associated with Axminster. There are several Axminster carpets in the Duke of Devonshire`s collection—woven for Devonshire House, London—that share similar anthemion and scroll bracket motifs as seen in our example. One of the Devonshire carpets, in particular, also employs a similar layout to the present carpet. There is also an Axminster carpet with similar motifs and coloration to the present example in the collections of Colonial Williamsburg, VA. The Williamsburg carpet employs an overall design as opposed to the medallion design of our carpet, but is similar enough in spirit to suggest that the two may have been woven for the same patron. Unfortunately, the 18th century provenance of our carpet is not known and any direct association between our carpet and either the Devonshire or Williamsburg pieces has been lost with time. However, as a group all of these pieces form a different and interesting group of carpets that adds to the fascinating diversity of the Axminster workshops.

Dimensions: 13' 7" x 18' 4"
Stock Number: 2004