9' x 12' Needlepoint Aubusson Rug | Green & Ivory Floral Medallion | Flat Weave

Lay this one out and the room changes temperature. It is a needlepoint flat weave worked in wool on a cotton base, drawn after the 18th century Aubusson cartoons of central France, with a hunter green field, a rose filled ivory oval at the center and a salmon coral frame that keeps the whole thing warm rather than formal. There is no pile at all, so the drawing stays crisp, the surface sits low under furniture and every leaf, berry and scroll reads as clearly as needlework in a frame. As an Oriental rug in the European decorative tradition it suits paneled rooms, painted furniture and antique wood alike, and it ships with our certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The composition is built in clear layers. At the heart sits an oval ivory reserve holding a loose bouquet of open roses, buds and leaves, ringed by a tan cartouche band and flanked by two small shield panels set into the green ground. Heavy acanthus scrollwork in camel and cream unfurls from the medallion and turns back on itself at the head and foot, where a crowned shield cartouche anchors each end. Beyond the green field, the ivory ground carries trailing sprays of leaves and berries in soft olive and tan, edged by a coral band finished with a fine white dart fringe motif. The outer border gives each of the 4 corners a large oval reserve filled with pink cabbage roses inside a scrolled cartouche, while a burgundy stripe worked with an open diamond lattice closes the design. Every element mirrors along both axes, which is exactly what the Aubusson cartoons ask for.

A Palette of Green, Ivory, Coral and Burgundy

The dominant note is a deep hunter green, used for the inner field and again as a wide band in the border so the eye travels between them. Against it, the ivory and soft cream grounds do most of the lifting, moving from chalky white in the medallion reserve to a warmer oatmeal in the border. Coral is the surprise: a clean salmon pink frames the field and reappears in the outer shield motifs, bridging the green and the brick burgundy of the lattice stripe. The scrollwork runs through camel, biscuit and a light cocoa brown, shaded stitch by stitch so the acanthus leaves look carved rather than flat. Flowers are rendered in rose pink with white highlights and crimson centers, leaves in olive, sage and a grayed green, with small slate blue accents tucked among the foliage. It is a quiet, faded palette by design, the same restrained coloring that made the original French panels so easy to live with.

Weaving Quality and Origin

This piece was made in China, where workshops have been producing needlepoint Aubussons to a very high standard for decades, following cartoons that trace back to the French royal manufactories. The technique is entirely different from a knotted rug: the wool is worked stitch by stitch across a cotton ground, producing a dense, smooth, pileless surface with sharply defined outlines and a flat back. That construction is the practical argument for it, since nothing crushes, chairs slide easily and the rug lies almost flush with the floor, which is why needlepoint of this kind is a long standing favorite for the dining room. At 9' x 12' it is the classic room size, and buyers comparing options will find it among our other 9x12 rugs. The condition here is perfect, with full color, clean selvages and straight sides.