A Magnificent Axminster carpet
English, late 18th century.
21ft 10in x 18ft 9in : 652cm x 558cm
Thomas Whitty (1715-1792) started to weave carpets on Midsummer's Day 1755 at Axminster, Devon. Working in the Age of Elegance, all the leading architects commissioned carpets from him, notably Adam, Wyatt and Leverton, to furnish the great Baroque houses being built.
The present carpet displays a grandeur and elegance of drawing and colour palette. Whitty was an expert dyer and a keen botanist, which is evident in his natural reproduction of flora. The wide old white border, a dominant feature, of scrolling acanthus leaves and the subtle chesnut ground colour create a harmonious balance, most Axminster carpets are of dark brown colouring and have a sombre mood.
At Neither Lypiatt, Gloucestershire, the Prince and Princess Michael of Kent's country manor, there is an identical carpet in the Yellow Drawing room. Grand carpets of this stature are considered more as furniture rather than a carpet and we are fortunate that the present carpet is in excellent condition.
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This is one example from our extensive collection of rare carpets and tapestries
