Peking, North China

Fette-Li manufacturer

Art Deco periode, 1930 circa

An Art Deco carpet from the Fette-Li atelier with a tone on tone pattern and blue border decorations.

The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrials Arts 1925 gave birth to a new decorative style, the Art Deco movement. The large demand for rugs and carpets in Art Deco style led to an increase in carpet production in China. China was able to satisfy the western demand for carpets in high quality at convenient prices. Among the most famous producers that adapted the new style to traditional chinese patterns were some Americans, as W.A. Nichols and Helen Fette, that founded carpet factories in China.

In Peking there was Helen Fette. Fette was a Wellesley graduate who came to China as a trailing spouse when her husband was hired to teach Chemistry at Qinghua University. She co-founded the Fette-Li Rug Company with Li Mengshu, a young rug workshop owner. Fette-Li’s in-house designers were well-educated and highly-paid professionals of both Chinese and Western nationalities.

The Great Depression hurt the industry badly, but the Sino-Japan war from 1937 to 1945 destroyed it.