A Savonnerie carpet, France,

Carpets designs in France in the early part of the last century split broadly into two styles, those which use primarily floral and naturalistic elements and which are stylised evocations of late 18th and early 19th century forms and those which were  influenced by developments in painting, such as cubism, and in modernist architecture. Amongst the former were pieces produced by the ateliers and designers who grouped themselves as coloristes-décorateurs (as opposed to ingénieurs-constructeurs), which included such firms as the Ecole Martine (founded by the couturier Poiret) and Süe et Mare and the artists Edouard Bénédictus, Paul Follot and Gustave Fayet amongst others.  The present lot, with its swirls of stylised flowers and medallon which nods to traditional carpet design, is a fine examplar of the style expounded by Bénédictus et al.