Nichols Art Deco Rugs

Walter Abner Nichols (January 8, 1889 /  March 30, 1960) “loved by the Chinese who worked with him or for him,” was originally a wool grader and sought to improve the quality of woolen yarn being used to make rugs in China. Establishing “Nichols Super Yarn and Carpets,” Walter Abner Nichols, is the reason why Art Deco Rugs are still with us today; they were well made with good materials. 

Woven with Mongolain wool was machine spun and dyed with German chromium dyes. 

He encouraged production to move from traditional Chinese minimalism of design and the traditional color palette of heavy indigo blue, pale yellow and bright red as shown in Peking, Fette, PaoTao and others to dazzling jewel tone combinations of magenta, turquoise, citrine yellow, emerald and peridot greens, amethyst purple, sapphire blue, amber and onyx black.

Nichols Art Deco Rugs

Art Deco Rugs Design elements also moved away from traditional Chinese Peking rug designs featuring Taoist, Imperialist, and Buddhist symbols to a more effulgent floral style and copying designs inspired from both landscape paintings, ceramics. Bamboo, cloud bands, reed flora, chrysanthemum, lotus, birds and butterflies continued to be foundational cultural motifs, but the scale was increased and the rigidity of symmetry and order was put aside. Retaining much of the open space use of earlier rugs, motifs were disproportionate and often broke across borders.

Peak production at 30,000 sq feet (equivalent to 300+ 8-6 x 11-6 rugs) imported to U.S. monthly.