a story that has been woven for four centuries in Paris
The Savonnerie carpet
This savoir-faire is a multi-millennial heritage from Central Asia imported to France at the beginning of the 17th century.
Known for the production of magnificent knotted pile rugs, the workshop takes its name from a former soap factory at Chaillot (now the 16th arrondissement in Paris) granted by Louis XIII in 1627.
During the reign of Louis XIV, the Royal Savonnerie Manufactory – meaning that the products were made exclusively for the use of the crown – produced more than a hundred monumental carpets and textile furnishings to adorn the Louvre, Versailles and other royal palaces.
The manufactory has crossed the centuries and supplied textiles for the Ancien Regime, the Empire and the Republic. Nowadays the Savonnerie weaves larges carpets designed by contemporary artists and designers.
The Savonnerie weaving technique
Weaving is a process resulting from the interlacing of the weft threads at right angles with the warp threads. It forms a fabric. The Savonnerie technique involves an additional step : the making of successive knots over the entire width of the fabric. The ends of the knots are cut off to form the pile surface.
The pile surface is our playground. We make it rough or smooth, we sculpt it and reveal exceptionally intense colors.
