A mid-19th-century French antique fragment rug, the moss green field with scattered feathery red leaves and ivory flowerheads around a bold polychrome medallion within a sand and sage scrolling vinery border. The French Savonnerie rugs factory, located on the site of the present Musee d'Art Moderne, inherited its name from the soap-making factory it took over at the behest of Louis XIII. From 1660 until 1743 Savonnerie was a manufacturer of royale, carrying out commissions for French Savonnerie rugs and carpets specifically designed for the Royal palaces. In the 1770s, the tapestry looms at Aubusson in the Cruze Valley near Limoges were converted to produce flat-woven antique oriental rugs and carpets under royal warrant. No one knows precisely when European rugs weaving began in this area, but it is certain that tapestries were first woven there long before the Gothic era.