An Empire pile (au point de la Savonnerie) carpet, probably Tournai, the design attributed to Bruno Renard,

The Empire style is one of remarkable homogeneity, ignited by the wish to provide furnishings for the various palaces Napoleon inhabited during his rule as Emperor of France (1804-1814) and to create an ambiance fitting for the new regime; the designs celebrate the military glory of the Empire and also utilise motifs celebrating the ancient Roman Empire, and the arts and sciences. Many of the carpets produced during this period, whether they were from the Savonnerie factory itself, or from the other principal manufactories: Beauvais, Sallandrouze de Lamornaix (whose production was based in and around Aubusson) or Piat Lefebvre of Tournai (then under French rule) were based on designs furnished by the painters and architects working for the Savonnerie, including Percier and Fontaine, Berthault and Louis de La Hamayde de Saint-Ange. The Garde-meuble, responsible for the provision and maintenance of furnishings for the palaces, divided their commissions for pile carpets amongst these four key manufactories; private individuals desiring to emulate the new style also commissioned carpets, principally from Sallandrouze de Lamornaix and Piat Lefebvre. Carpets exemplifying this new style, with their emphasis on military and imperial motifs include that woven by Piat Lefebvre for Napoleon’s study at the Château de Saint-Cloud and delivered in 1812; illustrated in Floret, E. et al., Great Carpets of the World, Paris, 1996, fig. 237, p. 238, it displays the fasces of the 16 original members of the Légion d’Honneur, the order which Napoleon had created in 1804.  A Savonnerie carpet designed by Saint-Ange for Napoleon’s bedchamber at the Tuileries palace, circa 1810, has a central octagonal panel enclosing various Roman style military attributes including armour, shield, helmet, quiver and standard, illustrated as fig. 240, p. 257, by Floret, ibid.

The design for the central medallion of the present lot is in the same vein as that of the Savonnerie carpet referred to above, illustrating amongst others, a cuirasse, shield and spear; the helmet however which is medieval in style, is perhaps a nod to the ancien regime. The spandrels, with their great eagles encircled by laurel wreaths, are clearly imperial in their associations; in concept they recall the motifs in the end panels of the carpet woven by Piat Lefebvre referred to above, the design of which is attributed to Bruno Renard circa 1806; the cartoon for this carpet is illustrated in Sherrill, Sarah B., Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America, New York, 1996, pl. 121, p. 115.  Another Tournai carpet, also attributed to Bruno Renard and now in the Mobilier National, Paris, illustrated in Sherrill, ibid., has coffered end panels with small motifs within bold laurel wreaths, amongst which is a lyre: these are almost identical to the motifs to be found on each side of the end panels of the present lot.  These end panels also display the monogram ‘HD’ within a wreath, presumably for the original owner of this powerfully designed carpet, conceived to celebrate the glories of imperial France.