#18992

English Art Deco Carpet

Possibly Designed by Marion Dorn

8’8” x 11’9” (2.64m by 3.58m)

Circa 1930’s

This totally graphic, utterly abstract, bold study in black, white and touches of red, has appeared in numerous publications on the Art Deco period. The center diagonal band is subtly three dimensional, receding at the center and the general effect is of strong movement. The color scheme is oh-so-chic and this carpet has few equals among 1930’s pieces from anywhere.

This carpet bears the partially illegible label of the Anglo … Carpet Company.  On an all wool foundation, with double wefts, it is coarsely symmetrically knotted in three-ply wool with a pile about ½ inch deep.  As is the case with the overwhelming majority of English 30’s Art Deco carpets, there is no border. The ivory ground displays diagonals with giant red spots and black/ivory scale patterns. The pattern is geometric, abstract and hard-edged, with no hint of floral or other realistic elements. However, the large dots have a mobility and seem to drift across the carpet.  There is nothing static about the layout, rather a strong sense of diagonal motion.

Marion Dorn (1899-1964), an American by birth, was active in Britain between the wars and worked with, among others, the Wilton Royal Carpet Factory in the late 1920’s.  She was not known to have collaborated with the Anglo … Carpet Company, however, hence the Dorn attribution is only speculative. The carpet is certainly in her style and no other English designer of the period was so strongly graphic. The strong abstract pattern is broadly similar to, but more mobile than, the black and white carpets she designed for Claridge’s Hotel c. 1935.  If the carpet is from another (now unknown) artist, it is certainly of high decorative quality.

The condition is excellent, and all finishes are intact. There are no repairs and it is completely original.

To view this rug on our website, click here.