An Art Deco Savonnerie carpet, France,

after a design by Paul Poiret

Pile generally good, near original 1/5 inch with small areas of foldwear and some greens oxidized to knotheads as well as an area in the lower end of the carpet worn low to knotheads; minor moth damage with some repiling; scattered spot stains and blacks bleeding slighter into outer yellow border. Original selvages with small breaks and slight fraying. Ends secured with blanket stitch. Recommend securing sides and carefully cleaning. Supple handle; very lustrous wool; good overall condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The decades between 1910 and 1940 marked the golden age of luxurious ocean liners that carried passengers between various European ports and the American continent. Ships such as the R.M.S. Olympic, the S.S. Normandie, or the S.S. Île de France were favored by the greatest celebrities of the time, including Marlene Dietrich, Josephine Baker, and Thomas Mann. While the interiors of the ocean liners built in the 1910s were characterized by historic revival styles, those built during the second half of the 1920s were decorated and furnished in the Art Deco fashion, which at the time was the preferred style of the progressive elite. The first class cabins and common areas of the S.S. Normandie and the S.S. Île de France were particularly luxurious with lavish interiors designed by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Jacques Carlu, and Louis-Marie Süe, among others. The present lot might have also adorned one of the first class cabins on one of the most luxurious ocean liners of the time; the S.S. Île de France, famous for having the largest first-class section of any ship. The design of the lot offered here can be assigned to Paul Poiret, a leading textile designer of the 1910s and 1920s, who created the lavish Chantilly suite on the S.S. Île de France, see Koda, Harold and Andrew Bolton, Poiret, New Haven, 2007, pg. 44. A contemporary photograph of the bedroom of a first class cabin, see below, probably in the Chantilly suite, shows three rugs with a design almost identical to that of the lot offered here. The recent exhibition on Paul Poiret at the Fashion Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, featured a small rug designed by Poiret and manufactured at the Atelier Martine that is identical to the rugs in the photograph. The present carpet clearly evokes the bold designs and colors of Poiret's other works executed by the Atelier and the Ecole Martine, see Day, Susan, Art Deco and Modern Carpets, London, 2002, pl. 47, and since the rug in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's exhibition is identical to this lot, one can safely attribute it to Paul Poiret. Even though it is unclear whether this particular carpet was destined for the Chantilly suite on the S.S. Île de France, it is a wonderful reminder of the art of Paul Poiret and the Coloristes, as well as the bygone area of Art Deco opulence.