The Savonnerie manufactory was the most prestigious European manufactory of knotted-pile
carpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...
s, enjoying its greatest period c. 1650–1685; the cachet of its name is casually applied to many knotted-pile carpets made at other centers. The manufactory had its immediate origins in a carpet manufactory established in a former soap factory (French ''savon'') on the
Quai de Chaillot downstream of
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in 1615 by Pierre DuPont, who was returning from the
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
.
Under a patent (''privilège'') of eighteen years, a monopoly was granted by
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown.
...
in 1627 to DuPont and his former apprentice Simon Lourdet, makers of carpets ''façon de Turquie'' ("in the manner of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
"). Until 1768, the products of the manufactory remained exclusively the property of the Crown, and Savonnerie carpets were among the grandest of French
diplomatic gift
A diplomatic gift is a gift given by a :diplomat, politician or leader when visiting a foreign country. Usually the gift is reciprocated by the host. The use of diplomatic gifts dates back to the ancient world and givers have competed to outdo e ...
s.
[The ambassadors of Russia, Spain, Denmark, Siam and even an unauthorized "ambassador" from Persia were all presented with Savonnerie carpets (Standen).]
The carpets were made of wool with some silk in the small details, knotted using the
Ghiordes knot
A knotted-pile carpet is a carpet containing raised surfaces, or pile (textile), piles, from the cut off ends of knots weaving, woven between the warp and weft. The Ghiordes/Turkish knot and the Senneh/Persian knot, typical of Anatolian rug, Anat ...
, at about ninety knots to the square inch. Some early carpets broadly imitate Persian models, but the Savonnerie style soon settled into more purely French designs, pictorial or armorial framed medallions, densely massed flowers in bouquets or leafy
rinceaux against deep blue, black or deep brown grounds, within multiple borders.
The Savonnerie manufactory now belongs to the
Gobelins Manufactory and still employs 40 weavers.
History of the manufacture
The pre-history of the Savonnerie manufacture lies in the concerns of
Henri IV to revive the French luxury arts, which had collapsed in the disorders of civil violence in the
Wars of Religion. French silver was being drained to the
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
and
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
for the purchase of knotted-pile carpets. Among the craftsmen the king provided with studios and workshops in the galleries of the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
itself, was Pierre Dupont. Dupont's ''La Stromatourgie, ou Traité de la Fabrication des tapis de Turquie'' ("Treaty on the manufacture of Turkish carpets", Paris 1632) is a prime source for information on French carpet manufacturing in the early seventeenth century (Standen).
Dupont and Lourdet fell into a quarrel that lasted into the next generation. The tapestry-workers were orphan children provided by the Hôpital de Bon Port, and Lourdet gained possession of the soap-factory buildings, while Dupont continued at the Galeries du Louvre until his death in 1640; the pile carpet manufactories both flourished, providing both
Cardinal Mazarin
Jules Mazarin (born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino or Mazarini; 14 July 1602 – 9 March 1661), from 1641 known as Cardinal Mazarin, was an Italian Catholic prelate, diplomat and politician who served as the chief minister to the Kings of France Lou ...
and
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...
with carpets and pile hangings, now proudly made, as the documents state, ''façon de France'', "in the French manner".
The best of the Savonnerie carpets were completed under the new contract granted in 1664
[The contract was to Lourdet alone; Louis Dupont continued to occupy his royally sponsored workrooms at the Louvre until 1671, when his workshop was established at the Savonnerie, independent of that run there by Lourdet's widow (Standen).] under the general direction of
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
, organized along lines similar to those employed in the
Gobelins and commissioning the unequalled series of thirteen carpets for the
Galerie d'Apollon and ninety-three for the Grande Galerie of the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
,
[The ''Grande Galerie du Bord de l'Eau'' that is the Louvre's present long paintings gallery.] which, though all but one were completed by 1683, were never used,
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
's attention having become entirely fixed on
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
, while the Grand Galerie was now used for displaying maps and plans of fortifications rather than royal ''
levées''. Nevertheless, a fortune was spent on the carpets, which were paid for at the rate of 165 livres per ''aune'', which measured 118.8 square centimeter/46 and a half square inches. The designs were from the king's painter
Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun (; baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French Painting, painter, Physiognomy, physiognomist, Aesthetics, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. He served as a court painter to Louis XIV, ...
, realized as full-scale cartoons by two painters from the Gobelins; Le Brun was carrying out ceiling paintings in the same galleries. Weaving began in 1668 and the first carpets for the Grande Galerie were delivered towards the end of that year (Wrightsman catalogue, no. 277). Some thirty-five complete carpets remain in the French Mobilier National today.

In its heyday, the Savonnerie took sixty orphans aged ten to twelve and apprenticed them for six years, at the end of which term, ''one'' would be granted the ''maîtrise'' while the others would remain
journeymen
A journeyman is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that field as a fully qualified employee ...
. The children were taught the art of design as well, a painter from the
Académie coming once a month to inspect their projects. Later, under the financial stringencies ensuing from the wars of Louis XIV, the Savonnerie fell into eclipse, its management combined with that of the Gobelins under the direction of the architect of the
Bâtiments du Roi The Bâtiments du Roi (, 'King's Buildings') was a division of the Maison du Roi ('King's Household') in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.
History
The Bâtiments ...
,
Robert de Cotte
Robert de Cotte (; 1656 – 15 July 1735) was a French architect-administrator, under whose design control of the royal buildings of France from 1699, the earliest notes presaging the Rococo, Rococo style were introduced. First a pupil of ...
, its workers often unpaid, its looms frequently idle, though in 1712 it was made a ''Manufacture Royale''.
During the 18th century attempts were made to update the manufactory's often ''retardataire'' designs, lightening and brightening the colors and introducing
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
elements. In the later eighteenth century, Savonnerie produced panels for screens and firescreens and some wall-hangings. The
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...
saw the factory's nadir; royal crowns, cyphers and fleurs-de-lys were cut from carpets that remained in storage as insignia of ''féodalité.'' The revival of the Savonnerie is due to the patronage of
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
, who commissioned carpets after 1805 in the
Empire style
The Empire style (, ''style Empire'') is an early-nineteenth-century design movement in architecture, furniture, other decorative arts, and the visual arts, representing the second phase of Neoclassicism. It flourished between 1800 and 1815 duri ...
. New cartoons were designed by
Percier and Fontaine
Percier and Fontaine was a noted partnership between French architects Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine.
History
Together, Percier and Fontaine were inventors and major proponents of the rich and grand, consciously archa ...
and the old stock of drawings made their way into the collections of the new
Louvre Museum
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
. In 1825, the Savonnerie was incorporated with the
Gobelins Manufactory, and its independent existence came to an end.
The Savonnerie phenomena was already spreading across the European aristocracy who wished to emulate the traditional fashions of the previous French Court. One of the British houses, notorious for collecting 18th-century French royal artworks, is
Waddesdon Manor
Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...
- a Victorian manor house that possesses nineteen Savonnerie carpets now in its collection.
File:Savonnerie manufactory, Carpet with the head of Apollo, 1683 at Waddesdon Manor.jpg, One of Waddesdon Manor
Waddesdon Manor is a English country house, country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by the National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, ...
's three Long Gallery carpets, out of the 93 Louis XIV commissioned from the Savonnerie factory in 1665 for the Louvre.
File:Armchair (one of a pair) MET ES2407.jpg, Armchair (one of a pair) at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
File:Carpet MET DT7519.jpg, Carpet at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
File:Trophies and birds MET TP169.jpg, Trophies and birds patterned carpet at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
File:Flowers in a silver vase MET 102017.jpg, Depiction of flowers in a silver vase at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
File:Trophies and birds MET TP169B.jpg, Trophies and birds Savonnerie at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
File:Tapis de la Grande Gallerie du Louvre No69 Savonnerie 1670 1685.jpg, Grande Gallerie du Louvre carpet, No69, made in the Savonnerie between 1670 and 1685. On display at the Gobelins Manufactory.
File:Savonnerie_tapisserie_18th_century_Versailles.jpg, Savonnerie tapisserie, 18th century. Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
File:Savonnerie_tapisserie_18th_century_Versailles_flowers.jpg, Savonnerie tapisserie, 18th century. Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
File:Notre-Dame_de_Paris_-_Tapis_monumental_du_chœur_-_006.jpg, One of the biggest Savonnerie carpets, 19th century, Notre-Dame de Paris cathedrale, designed by Saint-Ange
File:Pompons_du_nuancier_des_manufactures_nationales_06.jpg, samples of Colors in the manufactory
File:Sélection de ponpons.jpg, Selection of colors for the carpet with the model nowadays
File:Pierre à tracer.jpg, Design in 2018.
File:Point de Ghordès, technique de la Savonnerie.jpg, Technique of the Savonnerie in 2018
File:Tonte de la laine.jpg, Technique of the Savonnerie in 2018
File:Passage en croisure du fil de trame, technique de la Savonnerie.jpg, Technique of the Savonnerie in 2018
See also
*
Franco-Ottoman alliance
The Franco-Ottoman alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between Francis I of France, Francis I, King of France and Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire. The strategic and s ...
*
Oriental carpets in Renaissance painting
Savonnerie carpet collection at the Mobilier national (Paris, France)Savonnerie carpet collection at Waddesdon Manor
Notes
References
*
Wolf Burchard
Wolf Burchard, PhD FSA is a British-German art historian and museum curator. He joined the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 2019.
Life and career
Burchard held curatorial positions at the Royal Collection Trust (2009–2014) and ...
, 'Savonnerie Reviewed: Charles Le Brun and the "Grand Tapis de Pied d'Ouvrage a la Turque" woven for the Grande Galerie at the Louvre', Furniture History, vol. XLVIII (2012), pp. 1–43.
* Wolf Burchard, 'Unity through Variety: The Louvre's Savonnerie Carpets' in The Sovereign Artist: Charles Le Brun and the Image of Louis XIV, London 2016, pp. 155–195.
* Madeleine Jarry, 1966. ''The Carpets of the Manufacture de la Savonnerie''.
*
Edith Standen in F.J.B. Watson, 1966. ''The Wrightsman Collection,'' vol II, nos 275–8 and Appendix (New York:
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
)
{{Authority control
Textile companies of France
Carpet manufacturing companies
Companies established in 1650
Manufacturing companies based in Paris
1650 establishments in France
Waddesdon Manor