French rugs

Two types of French rugs are world famous. They are the Aubus-son and the Savonnerie. French weavers have continuously made these beautiful fabrics for hundreds of years, interrupted only by foreign wars and national uprisings.

There are more of them and they are better known than any other handmade floorcov-erings, excepting always the Oriental.

The Aubusson is the most plentiful and has the longest history. The small town of Aubusson lies in the Creuse River Valley in the south of France.

A group of Moors who crossed over the border from Spain are believed to have started hand weaving there before the year 1,000. Whether or not this is true, it is generally agreed that the first rugs made in France were woven there.