Mills-Mosseller Rug - Age & is it 'Hooked'.

I am the third person to inherit this rug. It has the initials on the front and someone wrote on the white Mills Mosseller. I've looked them up and couldn't find much except they are not in business anymore. My questions are - can anyone tell me about the age of this rug? The article I read said they made hooked rugs - is this hooked? And then could someone tell me how to care for this rug. I have it in front of a couch so it isn't walked on a lot. I really like it and want to care for it. Thanks!

 

As you can read in this online article, Mills-Mosseller Studio was established in 1926, so your lovely rug cannot be older than that, I suspect. Yes, it's hooked. My only hooked rug has been mounted with archival materials and framed for as long as I have owned it (already old when acquired) so I don't really have experience with how to take care of it.

https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/artist/ronald-mosseller/

 

From then into the next decade I'd think. Fox hunting imagery was particularly popular in the 1920s and 1930s. A close-up of the women's hair styles might confirm.

Debora

 

Hi! I am a trained punch needle rug hooker and huge punch needle rug hooking history enthusiast. Based on the look of the back of the rug, this is a hooked rug made most likely with a punch needle rug machine. The Mills-Mosseller studio had a team who helped them produce their rugs and "hooked rugs" that were produced for rug studios were created not by hand hooking, but with a "rug machine" worked from the back of the fabric. The "RM" initials suggest that it was designed by Ron Mosseller, the son of Lillian Mills-Mosseller (the woman who founded the studio in the 20s). Ron didn't begin working in the studio until around 1947 when he returned from the army, so the rug wouldn't be older than this. The rug should be spot cleaned, or could also be dry cleaned by a reputable person familiar with vintage rugs. It looks like the back has been covered in latex glue, which unfortunately will make this rug more difficult to repair in the future if any of the loops pull out.

 

well that's interesting............thanks for that lesson !!