Acta Musealia

On the History of Carpet Production in Zašová and Valaššké Meziříčí. Knotted Spreads for Rocking Chairs

The contribution deals with the history of the production of hand knotted wool carpets in Zašová and Valašské Meziříčí at the time the workshop (from 1898) and the Provincial Tapestry and Carpet School (from 1909) were headed by painter Rudolf Schlattaur (1861-1915). It encompasses Schlattaur's ideas and undertakings that were to promote carpet production, which, he had decided in 1911, should be increased at the expense of tapestry manufacture. This long term strategy was to be implemented into the future. The contribution further analyses the range of products at the time of the First World War (after the death of the workshop founder) and shortly after (until 1922) and compares the ratio of carpet and tapestry products in the total production. It then focuses on a specialised item of carpet production - knotted spreads for rocking chairs. The workshop would make the spreads both to order and to stock and sell them at exhibitions and through commissioned sales. One of the commission agents was Gebrüder Thonet company, which, before and during the First World War, offered Provincial School workshop products in their Viennese shop. Among the patterns for carpets in the Provincial Archives in Opava, several Art Deco spread designs for rocking chairs were identified, which made it possible to further specify parameters of the product as well as its structural design based on its intended function. The authors of the designs are Rudolf Schlattaur, Rudolf Livora, Rudolf Hoffmann and architect Emanuel K. Pelant.

Keywords: Moravian tapestry manufacture, Valašské Meziříčí, carpet production, Rudolf Schlattaur, Emanuel K. Pelant, Rudolf Hoffmann, Rudolf Livora, Josef Steindl, Gebrüder Thonet, bentwood furniture - rocking chairs