Art Deco and Modernist Carpets

Aldous Huxley, in 1930, describing the essence of Art Deco, wrote “simplicity of form contrasts at the present time with richness of materials … Modern simplicities are rich and sumptuous”. Art Deco originated in France as a luxurious, highly decorative style, spreading rapidly throughout the world and most dramatically in the USA. The style was named after the 1925 Paris “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes”, conceived in 1907 as a government‐sponsored initiative with the aim of encouraging co‐operation and collaboration between artists, artisans and manufacturers, and of promoting export markets for French goods. With its combination of...