The Savonnerie workshop was founded in France in the 17th century, on the site of an obsolete soap works at Chaillot (now the 16th arrondissement in Paris), from which it takes its name. Tapestries, screens and other textile furnishings were all woven here, but it was principally for carpets that the Savonnerie became known and this was their main source of production. The workshop was a Royal Manufactory, meaning that the finished textiles were destined for the royal palaces and accordingly the designers were employed by the Crown, with Louis XV himself approving the choice of designs. The mid eighteenth century represents the golden age of Savonnerie production. The workshop went into a state of decline under Louis XVI, but underwent a renaissance in the first decade of the 19th century, with Napoleon as its patron.

This carpet was woven in the second half of the 18th century. The design is particularly charming, comprising swags of lilies and roses tied with delicate ribbon bows, framing two central arrangements of fruit and laurel leaves. The naturalistic effect of the flowers and fruit is given by the many different coloured wools employed, which allow for subtle changes in shading.