AUBUSSON CARPET AT THE FOCUS OF THE LATE 18th CENTURY KNITTINGS
Wool, decorated at the centre with an eagle within a medallion surrounded by garlands of flowers proper on a cream background, encircled by acanthus scrolls, floral bouquets and vine branches on a linden background, with the Chevalier gallery label on the reverse; reduced in size, the border missing
Dimensions: 472.5 × 314 cm (186 × 123 ½ in.)
Provenance:
Former Mrs. Hamilton Rice collection.
Sale in Paris, Palais Galliera, Maître Boscher, June 24, 1965, lot 117
(see fig. 1).
An Aubusson Savonnerie carpet, late 18th century
This rug comes from the collection of the American philanthropist Eleanor Hamilton Rice (1862-1937). Born Elkins, she was the daughter of Philadelphia tycoon William Lukens Elkins.
In 1883, she married George Dunton Widener, who died in the sinking of the Titanic with his eldest son Harry. Following this tragic accident, in their honour, she became one of the largest donors to the famous Widener Library at Harvard University. In 1915, she remarried Professor and explorer Alexander Hamilton Rice, dividing her life between her residences in New York, Newport and Paris, where she died in 1937.