Art deco carpets. (Design Notes).(Brief Article)

Decorative arts of the art deco period, sometimes known as the machine age, are characterized by angular lines and an absence of ornament that give them a streamlined appearance. Carpets woven from the mid-1920s through the 1930s reflect this aesthetic. Because many of the leading designers of furniture, lighting devices, and other furnishings undertook commissions for entire rooms, or indeed, whole houses, offices, or other public spaces, they were frequently called upon to design upholstery fabrics, curtains, and carpets, which served to unify a room.

Two French designers of the early art deco period Jean Michel Frank and Emile Jacques Ruhlmann can be credited with some of the most innovative carpets of the age. Carpets associated with Frank's designs for interiors were highly regarded, and he received commissions from around the world. His clients included such well-known figures as the couturier Elsa Schiaparelli of France and Templeton Crocker of San Francisco. Frank collaborated with some of the most progressive artists of the day including Alberto and Diego Giacometti and Salvador Dali. For his early carpets he advocated neutral colors in muted tones of brown, gray, and green, woven in costly materials such as silk, which gave the carpets the brilliant luster that is a ...