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This is a rare example of the tapis ras, a type of tapestry-woven or flat-weave carpet that appeared in the 1770-1780s. These carpets’ compositions often reproduced the decoration on the ceiling and the geometrical division of the room space. The motifs - foliation, medallions, cameos, griffons and chimera - show the contemporary interest in antiquity. The colours - Pompeii red, almond green, deep brown - are a manifestation of the emerging fashion that would triumph during the Directoire and the Consulat, promoted by Dugourc and Bélanger and subsequently disseminated by Percier and Fontaine.