Hanging a rug on the wall

From the earliest days of trade with the Levant, the French merchants brought exotic rugs, tapestries and textiles back to France. During the 19th century, it became fashionable in upper class homes to hang kilims and other Middle Eastern rugs on the walls or to suspend them as room dividers and portières.
The woven rugs were expensive and were very heavy, so it wasn't long before French textile manufacturers began producing kilim prints and rug prints as a more practical substitute in interior decoration. Below are several 19th century rug prints.