Antique English Axminster Abstract Bold Handwoven Wool Rug

An antique English Axminster Carpet with a symmetrical design that features overlapping paisley shapes. Camel, moss green, and ivory on a rust field within a multi-stepped border. This antique oriental rug has been size adjusted.

Renowned architect and furniture maker Robert Adam designed some of the most famous Axminster carpets. The elegant European rug he designed for Harewood House circa 1770 currently resides at the Metropolitan Museum and is not dissimilar to the Lansdowne carpet, circa 1775. They both employ classical motifs based on the antique finds at Herculaneum and Pompeii in the late 18th century. They share a sense of orderly symmetry in the overall design using Palladian elements such as columns, pediments, architraves, trophy compartments, a string of bell flowers, and classical masks. The Axminster large area rugs for living rooms he designed often mimicked the ceiling plasterwork above. He used nearly garish intensity of colors, which have faded over time.