8' x 10' Chinese Aubusson Rug | Ivory Field, Rose Medallion | Excellent Condition

This 8' x 10' Aubusson is a Chinese-woven reading of the 18th century French salon style, worked entirely by hand in wool on a cotton foundation. The surface sits low and smooth, which is exactly what this design needs: the drawing stays crisp, the roses keep their shading, and the whole field reads like a piece of woven furniture rather than a shaggy floor covering. At 8 x 10 it is the classic American room size, wide enough to hold a sofa group on all four legs or to sit under a table for 8, and it is one of the most searched of all 8 x 10 area rugs for that reason. As with every handmade Oriental rug we import, it ships with a certificate of authenticity documenting origin, materials and construction.

Design and Motifs

The composition is built in three concentric stages. At the center sits a taupe oval filled with a loose bouquet of roses, tulips and trailing leaves, drawn with the shaded petal work you see in the close-up photograph. That oval is held inside a salmon cartouche edged with C-scrolls and ribbon knots at the top and bottom, then ringed again by a wreath of pale leafage. The ivory field around it carries 4 corner sprays of roses and buds, each one different, floating without a grid. The main border reverses the scheme: a brick red ground filled with large ivory acanthus scrolls, rosette wheels and long pilaster-like stems that anchor each corner. Two narrow guard bands, one a row of pearl beading and one a tulip-and-dart frieze, separate field from border and give the eye a clean stopping point.

A Palette of Ivory, Sage and Faded Rose

The field is ivory with a distinct green cast, closer to old parchment or pale sage than to white, so it warms rather than brightens a room. Against it the border reads brick red with a deeper burgundy outer band, muted rather than bright, the kind of red that sits quietly next to mahogany or walnut. The medallion frame is a soft salmon that fades toward peach at its edges, and the inner oval is a smoky taupe brown, an unusual choice that keeps the floral bouquet from looking sweet. Through the flowers run olive and celadon greens, dusty rose, apricot, cream and small touches of powder blue in the ribbons and petals. It is a low-contrast palette overall, with the strongest note being the red border framing the pale center, which is what makes this design so easy to live with in a formal room.

Aubusson Weaving in China

Aubusson takes its name from the French town whose workshops supplied the chateaux and salons of the 17th and 18th centuries with floral tapestry floor coverings. The style has been woven by hand in Chinese ateliers for decades now, and the best of that work is very good indeed: tight, even rows, careful color blending across dozens of shades, and drawing that holds the curve of a scroll without wobble. This piece shows that discipline in the border, where the acanthus leaves repeat at scale without distortion, and at the corners, where the pattern resolves cleanly instead of being cut off. The edge photograph with the ruler shows the density of the weave and the range of yarns used in a single band. The wool has kept a soft handle and the rug remains in excellent condition, clean and even across the full 8 x 10 surface.