Thursday 20 September 2012

ANTIQUE FRENCH SAVONNERIE RUG RESTORATION

French Aubusson and Savonnerie rugs are perfect examples of European take on making fine rugs. French were certainly the master of rug production in in 17th an d 18th centuries, many fine examples remain in European homes. They are highly sought after among dealers, collectors and rug enthusiasts.

This beautiful Antique French Savonnerie rug was in quite bad condition with many holes, slits and foundation showing areas. We have stitched more than 300 slits with a secret thread and restored about 30 holes with new foundation threads. As with all other flat woven rug restorations, a much larger area needs to be removed from the rug as surrounding areas threads will be very weak too. It is very common for antique rugs to have pile loss or holes in brown or black coloured areas as this dyes will result in weaker fibres compared with rest of the rug. This rug was no exception as all the holes were formed in black part of the rug due to weakness of woolen fibers.

It is about 50 square meters, was never washed in its life span in more than 100 years, it was certainly a challenge and we successfully washed and restored this beautiful rug to its full glory within two months. Our client is delighted with the result, restoration will keep it safe for many more decades to come. www.rugart.biz



WHEN WE RECEIVED IT



Some of the old repairs, very crudely done


To restore this holes, all the black yarn around needed to be removed


One of the hundreds of slits, note the old repairs where the slits were secured by visible thread



RESTORATION PROCESS





























All the restored areas can be seen with exposed thread ends, all over the rug...
 

Final touch ups and grooming in place