This is a vintage rug with a ship design.

Fishing Boats on the beach at Saintes-Maries, 1888.Amsterdam Rijksmuseum.

Van Gogh In june 1888 Vincent travelled to Les-Saints-Maries-de-la-Mer, which is normally called Saintes-Maries. In that time the town was a marketplace and a fishing community. Vincent described the place to his brother Theo,"having less than 100 houses x 20 to 50 bathing guests". From Arles Vincent took a dilligence to cover the 50 kilometers to Saintes-Maries.After some time with stomach problems, Vincent wanted to rest a week in the Mediterranean Sea.Vincent took 3 skins with him to paint and described the boats on the beach as "soo beautiful in form and color,with the association remembering him of flowers".The beach reminded him much of Holland, a contrast between sky and sand. The time in Saintes-Maries reinforced Vincents desire to remain painting in South France. The Souths colors made him the colorist that we all admire.105 centimeters X 70 centimeters. Very rare rya !
There is nothing in Art like a Van Gogh. Our most loved and admired artist.

The HISTORY of RYA (Resume by Diana)
The Rya rug developed since ancient times in the area
that now comprehend Sweden and Finland. Originally the rya was woven for
protection against the cold. It was a textile of the common man: the first
ryas were bed covers used with the long haired wool on the inside. It was
used over the scandinavian sleight. It was used as a coat for fishermen &
whalehunters. It had the advantage to repell seawater much better than
leather. It was used on the horses or to cover the doorway and not
infrecuently as a sustitute for money. The heavy one-colored gray Rya
coats were made with the elastic wool of the "spellsauens" sheep race from
Norway. The warming capacity of the woven Rya was better than that of the
leather & fur. RY, an old Norse word meaning "coverlet made of pile" and
RUH, "rough or shaggy" are found in scandinavian writtings of the
sixteenth century. The modern word RYA is swedish and probably evolved
during the eighteenth century. Other names for the technique include ryia,
ria, ryo,ryghia (all archaic) and ryijy ,the name by which the Finns still
identify their craft. In the middle ages was the Rya a common used Bed
Cover in Denmark. Gradually as more efficient ways were developed to keep
warm, rya's role changed from practical to decorative. Decoration with
motives included plants, animals, religious simbols, pictorial narratives,
and elaborate geometric elaborations like the sunburst pattern. Soon in
the 1500 begin the decoration of the Ryas to be used only in ceremonial
ocassions and they were called Pryd ryas. This rya was used in wedding
ceremonies at the church and as rug for the newly gifted. A combination of
wall decoration with an extention to the floor was common in 1900's. A
swedish Rya artist Märta Måås-Fjetterstrom was a pioneer in the years of
industrialism. In the 1960's many artists experimented with forms and
colors and Ryas were very popular. Many tapestries were famous in Denmark
working with design ryas: HØYER, L.F.FOGHT, EGE, C.U.M. & GRAM. In the
1980's the generation that grew up with the very popular modern ryas of
the 1960's grew older, satisfied &
saturated with the rya weaving option. Many artists shifted to other
design experiments and the Ryas of the 1960's-70's are now hard to find.
Ocassionally owners & collectors break up their collections or die and the
ryas appear like a Greenpeace submarine smashing the ice to surface and
breath. We have a purple Shag by Verner Panton of Denmark. This
experiment in the use of a pile textile was initiated by the Bayer
chemical company of Germany to stimulate market outlets for its synthetic
Dralon fibers. The organic furniture here, as well as the floor, walls,
ceiling of this room in a ship were covered with a machine-tufted dralon
pile. Quite Cool.