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Lot Essay
Of particularly rare and large size and in an excellent state of preservation, this impressive carpet belongs to an early group of French Savonnerie carpets woven at the Chaillot workshop between Louis XIII’s death in 1643 and Louis XIV's full assumption of power in 1661. When produced after 1643, they are still frequently referred to as Louis XIII carpets, primarily to distinguish them from the more prevalent and well-known Louis XIV examples woven during the latter king's majority, for the galerie d’Apollon and the grande galerie at the palais du Louvre.
The French luxury carpet industry flourished in the seventeenth century, due in large part to its promotion by Royal policy. The genesis of the Savonnerie factory traces to Henri IV (r. 1589-1610), who, recognizing the economic drain caused by importing carpets from Turkey and India, prohibited the entry of Eastern carpets into France. Seeking simultaneously to encourage domestic French carpet production, on January 4, 1608 he granted a workshop space in the basement of the Louvre, below the grande galerie, to Pierre Dupont, tapissier ordinaire en tapis de Turquie et façons de Levant (see P. Verlet, The James Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Savonnerie, London, 1982, p. 28). One of Dupont's apprentices, Simon Lourdet, quickly became so proficient in the trade that he ingratiated himself to the Queen, Marie de Medici, who allowed him to install another workshop in the former soap factory, or Savonnerie, at Chaillot. The name 'Savonnerie' thence became synonymous with French pile-woven carpets. A partnership agreement between Dupont and Lourdet was signed on September 5, 1626 to share the profits and expenses of the two workshops, and until 1664, both produced carpets of very similar design.
Carpets from this period share in common many features, foremost the black or dark blue, or sometimes brown, ground color woven with millefleurs: sprays of colorful, naturalistic and identifiable flowers, including lilies, carnations, ranunculus and tulips, which were considered the most fashionable and exotic flower. It is not known who designed or provided the models for these carpets, but the overall concept is based on Persian, Indian and Turkish carpets, combined with the European taste for flowers. Contemporaneous designs for embroidery and tapestries are very similar in character, and Dupont was known also to have worked as an embroiderer. The flower-filled ground of these early carpets, by contrast, probably originates in Europe, with the tradition of earlier millefleur tapestries, and much of their direct inspiration can be found in still-life paintings from both the Netherlands and France, including the works of Jacques Linard (1598-1645), Paul Androuet de Cerceau (1623-1710) and Georges Baussonnet (1577-1644). The drawings of Baussonet in particular, dated between 1592 and 1636, feature flowers quite similar to the accurate depiction of specimens in these carpets (see ibid., fig. 101). The strong similarities and repetitious designs of the Louis XIII carpets from this period suggest that the designs available at this relatively young workshop were, to some degree, limited. It also suggests, however, that they were gained popular success and found favor with the court.
In most cases, the field is centered by a bouquet or a flower-filled wreath, but on the Aitken Savonnerie the middle is unusually, though not uniquely, woven with a cartouche enclosing a château fort of three towers encircled by crossed S letters. Although it has not been proven with absolute certainty, the heraldic device featured here is likely that of either the de Castellane or of the de Castille family. A wide and defined border surrounds the field containing similar flowers and floral arrangements, creating a brilliant millefleurs effect. The guard borders outlining the main border are typically drawn from elements of the antique or from borders used in contemporaneous tapestries. In this case, the outer guard border is further woven with a fort as it appears in both the Castellan and the Castille coats-of-arms and the cipher NDC.
Both the Castellane and the Castille families were ancient noble dynasties, with the former originating in Provence, the latter in Île-de-France. The fort with three towers is the central and sole motif in both families’ coat-of-arms. The field of the Castellane coat-of-arms is always red, whereas the that of the Castille family is either red or blue, depending on the branch. By the time the Aitken Savonnerie was woven, the Castellane family had split into several branches. There are three notable members of the family that could have been the original owners of this carpet: Scipion de Castellane, seigneur de Novejan (d. 1681), Horace de Castellane, baron de Norante et de Chaudon (1615-1674) and François de Castellane, comte de Grignan (1632-1714). François de Castellane held the prestigious titles of lieutenant général au gouvernement de Provence and seigneur of the château d’Entrecasteaux. Although the cipher NDC does not correspond with his name, it is possible that it was François de Castellane who acquired, or was gifted, this carpet. Production of Savonnerie carpets at this time was reserved for the order of the King, the Royal family and as dignitary gifts to foreign diplomats and to his loyal courtiers. The Castellane were well-connected at court and enjoyed the King’s favor, which could have afforded them access to such a prestigious and costly object, marked with their coat-of-arms and cipher. In fact, Françoise de Sévigné, an icon of the era, was comtesse de Grignan and thus a member of the Castellane family by marriage. During the eighteenth century, various branches of the Casetllane became even more influential, playing an important role at court and receiving the privilege of Honneurs de la Cour nine times between 1750 and 1787. The family produced numerous high-ranking officials of the ancien régime, including Michel-Ange de Castellane (1703-1782), French ambassador to the Sublime Porte; Henri-César de Castellane-Majastre (1733-1789), Chef d’Escadre of the royal navy; and Boniface de Castellane (1758-1837), representative of the Second Estate at the Estates General of 1789.
Among members of the Castille family, we do find two people in the mid-seventeenth century, whose initials are NDC: Nicolas de Castille (d. 1658) and his brother Nicolas Jeannin de Castille (c. 1616-1691), sons of Pierre de Castille and Charlotte Jeannin. Nicolas de Castille was a man of the cloth and served as abbot at various monasteries. Little is known about his life and he died without an heir. Nicolas Jeannin Castille, on the other hand, had an illustrious political career and held a number of official positions, including Commandeur et Greffier des Ordres du Roi, Trésorier de l'Epargne and Conseiller au Parlement de Paris, suggesting that he was highly favored at court and enjoyed the trust of the King. However, his coat-of-arms featured the château fort on a blue field that he later during his life amended with the Jeannine heraldic device of a silver crescent issuing a golden flame. As mentioned above, early Savonnerie carpets were commissioned by the court for specific people and it is plausible that this carpet was woven for Nicolas Jeannin de Castille before he took his mother’s name and coat-of-arms. The distinctive crossed S letters in the coat-of-arms of this carpet further adds to the mystery of its provenance as it is not featured in either the Castellan or the Castille coat-of-arms. To this day, there is no consensus on the meaning of this symbol; some interpret it as a monetary sign, others as a sign of fortitude or love.
In the twentieth century this carpet belonged to the collector and dealer Francis Guérault (1874-1930), who owned shops in both Paris and Rennes. A photograph taken of his Paris gallery located at 3 rue Roquépine shows the Aitken carpet in situ. Guérault’s collection of eighteenth-century fine and decorative art was auctioned five years after his death. Henry Ford II acquired the carpet in 1964 from Rosenberg & Stiebel for his legendary home in Grosse Pointe, Michigan; the New York dealers had in turn sourced it from the Parisian antiquaire and their frequent business partner, René Weiller. When Ford acquired the carpet, his correspondence with Rosenberg & Stiebel records a belief that it had been "Made for Diane de Poitiers, Château d'Anet". Ford returned the carpet to the dealers in 1966 based purely on his personal taste: he had acquired a carpet "more light and gay", which he believed better suited his interiors. Four years later, Rosenberg & Stiebel sold the carpet to Russell and Annie Laurie Aitken.
Today only three surviving early Savonnerie carpets woven with family crests or ciphers are known. These are preserved at the Mobilier National, with two displaying arms of the Barberini and Thou families, and the third woven with the cipher of Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency, Princesse de Condé. A fourth carpet of similar age featuring a family crest, motto, and the cipher PCD (?) is in the collection of the Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, but its weaving origins are disputed—it is now attributed to an anonymous workshop that was run by former employees of the Savonnerie (see Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Un temps d'exubérance: Les Arts Décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d’Autriche, exh. cat., Paris, 2002, p. 189, no. 110).
Most of these so-called Louis XIII carpets, with a few exceptions, are small in size. The smaller carpets were perhaps intended as table carpets rather than floor coverings. Within this prized group, there are very few large-format Louis XIII carpets, and most among them are no longer in private hands, but instead in the collections of key museums or institutions. Smaller carpets of this type periodically appear on the open market, but none comparable in size to the Aitken Savonnerie. Similar smaller carpets include one sold Christie’s, Paris, 20 November 2024, lot 8 (€441,000); another sold Christie’s, New York, 15 June 2021, lot 86 ($400,000); and one with a similar millefleurs design sold Christie’s, London, 4 July 2019, lot 8 (£299,250). The two closest carpets in size are currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (obj. nos. 1976.155.113 and 1983.268).
The French luxury carpet industry flourished in the seventeenth century, due in large part to its promotion by Royal policy. The genesis of the Savonnerie factory traces to Henri IV (r. 1589-1610), who, recognizing the economic drain caused by importing carpets from Turkey and India, prohibited the entry of Eastern carpets into France. Seeking simultaneously to encourage domestic French carpet production, on January 4, 1608 he granted a workshop space in the basement of the Louvre, below the grande galerie, to Pierre Dupont, tapissier ordinaire en tapis de Turquie et façons de Levant (see P. Verlet, The James Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Savonnerie, London, 1982, p. 28). One of Dupont's apprentices, Simon Lourdet, quickly became so proficient in the trade that he ingratiated himself to the Queen, Marie de Medici, who allowed him to install another workshop in the former soap factory, or Savonnerie, at Chaillot. The name 'Savonnerie' thence became synonymous with French pile-woven carpets. A partnership agreement between Dupont and Lourdet was signed on September 5, 1626 to share the profits and expenses of the two workshops, and until 1664, both produced carpets of very similar design.
Carpets from this period share in common many features, foremost the black or dark blue, or sometimes brown, ground color woven with millefleurs: sprays of colorful, naturalistic and identifiable flowers, including lilies, carnations, ranunculus and tulips, which were considered the most fashionable and exotic flower. It is not known who designed or provided the models for these carpets, but the overall concept is based on Persian, Indian and Turkish carpets, combined with the European taste for flowers. Contemporaneous designs for embroidery and tapestries are very similar in character, and Dupont was known also to have worked as an embroiderer. The flower-filled ground of these early carpets, by contrast, probably originates in Europe, with the tradition of earlier millefleur tapestries, and much of their direct inspiration can be found in still-life paintings from both the Netherlands and France, including the works of Jacques Linard (1598-1645), Paul Androuet de Cerceau (1623-1710) and Georges Baussonnet (1577-1644). The drawings of Baussonet in particular, dated between 1592 and 1636, feature flowers quite similar to the accurate depiction of specimens in these carpets (see ibid., fig. 101). The strong similarities and repetitious designs of the Louis XIII carpets from this period suggest that the designs available at this relatively young workshop were, to some degree, limited. It also suggests, however, that they were gained popular success and found favor with the court.
In most cases, the field is centered by a bouquet or a flower-filled wreath, but on the Aitken Savonnerie the middle is unusually, though not uniquely, woven with a cartouche enclosing a château fort of three towers encircled by crossed S letters. Although it has not been proven with absolute certainty, the heraldic device featured here is likely that of either the de Castellane or of the de Castille family. A wide and defined border surrounds the field containing similar flowers and floral arrangements, creating a brilliant millefleurs effect. The guard borders outlining the main border are typically drawn from elements of the antique or from borders used in contemporaneous tapestries. In this case, the outer guard border is further woven with a fort as it appears in both the Castellan and the Castille coats-of-arms and the cipher NDC.
Both the Castellane and the Castille families were ancient noble dynasties, with the former originating in Provence, the latter in Île-de-France. The fort with three towers is the central and sole motif in both families’ coat-of-arms. The field of the Castellane coat-of-arms is always red, whereas the that of the Castille family is either red or blue, depending on the branch. By the time the Aitken Savonnerie was woven, the Castellane family had split into several branches. There are three notable members of the family that could have been the original owners of this carpet: Scipion de Castellane, seigneur de Novejan (d. 1681), Horace de Castellane, baron de Norante et de Chaudon (1615-1674) and François de Castellane, comte de Grignan (1632-1714). François de Castellane held the prestigious titles of lieutenant général au gouvernement de Provence and seigneur of the château d’Entrecasteaux. Although the cipher NDC does not correspond with his name, it is possible that it was François de Castellane who acquired, or was gifted, this carpet. Production of Savonnerie carpets at this time was reserved for the order of the King, the Royal family and as dignitary gifts to foreign diplomats and to his loyal courtiers. The Castellane were well-connected at court and enjoyed the King’s favor, which could have afforded them access to such a prestigious and costly object, marked with their coat-of-arms and cipher. In fact, Françoise de Sévigné, an icon of the era, was comtesse de Grignan and thus a member of the Castellane family by marriage. During the eighteenth century, various branches of the Casetllane became even more influential, playing an important role at court and receiving the privilege of Honneurs de la Cour nine times between 1750 and 1787. The family produced numerous high-ranking officials of the ancien régime, including Michel-Ange de Castellane (1703-1782), French ambassador to the Sublime Porte; Henri-César de Castellane-Majastre (1733-1789), Chef d’Escadre of the royal navy; and Boniface de Castellane (1758-1837), representative of the Second Estate at the Estates General of 1789.
Among members of the Castille family, we do find two people in the mid-seventeenth century, whose initials are NDC: Nicolas de Castille (d. 1658) and his brother Nicolas Jeannin de Castille (c. 1616-1691), sons of Pierre de Castille and Charlotte Jeannin. Nicolas de Castille was a man of the cloth and served as abbot at various monasteries. Little is known about his life and he died without an heir. Nicolas Jeannin Castille, on the other hand, had an illustrious political career and held a number of official positions, including Commandeur et Greffier des Ordres du Roi, Trésorier de l'Epargne and Conseiller au Parlement de Paris, suggesting that he was highly favored at court and enjoyed the trust of the King. However, his coat-of-arms featured the château fort on a blue field that he later during his life amended with the Jeannine heraldic device of a silver crescent issuing a golden flame. As mentioned above, early Savonnerie carpets were commissioned by the court for specific people and it is plausible that this carpet was woven for Nicolas Jeannin de Castille before he took his mother’s name and coat-of-arms. The distinctive crossed S letters in the coat-of-arms of this carpet further adds to the mystery of its provenance as it is not featured in either the Castellan or the Castille coat-of-arms. To this day, there is no consensus on the meaning of this symbol; some interpret it as a monetary sign, others as a sign of fortitude or love.
In the twentieth century this carpet belonged to the collector and dealer Francis Guérault (1874-1930), who owned shops in both Paris and Rennes. A photograph taken of his Paris gallery located at 3 rue Roquépine shows the Aitken carpet in situ. Guérault’s collection of eighteenth-century fine and decorative art was auctioned five years after his death. Henry Ford II acquired the carpet in 1964 from Rosenberg & Stiebel for his legendary home in Grosse Pointe, Michigan; the New York dealers had in turn sourced it from the Parisian antiquaire and their frequent business partner, René Weiller. When Ford acquired the carpet, his correspondence with Rosenberg & Stiebel records a belief that it had been "Made for Diane de Poitiers, Château d'Anet". Ford returned the carpet to the dealers in 1966 based purely on his personal taste: he had acquired a carpet "more light and gay", which he believed better suited his interiors. Four years later, Rosenberg & Stiebel sold the carpet to Russell and Annie Laurie Aitken.
Today only three surviving early Savonnerie carpets woven with family crests or ciphers are known. These are preserved at the Mobilier National, with two displaying arms of the Barberini and Thou families, and the third woven with the cipher of Charlotte-Marguerite de Montmorency, Princesse de Condé. A fourth carpet of similar age featuring a family crest, motto, and the cipher PCD (?) is in the collection of the Musée Jacquemart-André, Paris, but its weaving origins are disputed—it is now attributed to an anonymous workshop that was run by former employees of the Savonnerie (see Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Un temps d'exubérance: Les Arts Décoratifs sous Louis XIII et Anne d’Autriche, exh. cat., Paris, 2002, p. 189, no. 110).
Most of these so-called Louis XIII carpets, with a few exceptions, are small in size. The smaller carpets were perhaps intended as table carpets rather than floor coverings. Within this prized group, there are very few large-format Louis XIII carpets, and most among them are no longer in private hands, but instead in the collections of key museums or institutions. Smaller carpets of this type periodically appear on the open market, but none comparable in size to the Aitken Savonnerie. Similar smaller carpets include one sold Christie’s, Paris, 20 November 2024, lot 8 (€441,000); another sold Christie’s, New York, 15 June 2021, lot 86 ($400,000); and one with a similar millefleurs design sold Christie’s, London, 4 July 2019, lot 8 (£299,250). The two closest carpets in size are currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (obj. nos. 1976.155.113 and 1983.268).