Axminster Carpets

Antique Axminster carpets were a luxurious nineteenth-century English counterpart to the great Neo-classical designs of French Aubussons and Savonneries. They share the same taste for monumental frames and cartouches filled with naturalistic floral detail in the European tradition, along with a tendency toward softer, pastel coloration. Some Axminsters, however, also began to respond to the qualities of Oriental rug design once the latter had reclaimed their position in the European market during the later nineteenth century. But even Axminster rugs of this kind preserve a distinctly European taste for soft coloration and realistic floral motives.