Hunting Rug
Groam House Museum

This special rug was designed by artist George Bain’s and is known as ‘The Hunting Rug’.

The details in the design rug are amazing and well worth a closer look. They include huntsmen on horseback, wild boar, deer and hounds.

In the late 1940s George Bain was approached by the carpet maker Quayle & Tranter Limited to provide some Celtic designs suitable for rugs. This became a very productive collaboration. Bain was soon taken on as a consultant as well as designer. Not all the designs that he provided were actually put into production. However, the Hunting Rug was the most successful of those that were.

This rug is marked on the back with ‘SS Cundard Samaria’, suggesting it was purchased for the luxury cruise ship market. This gives us an indication of Bain’s popularity and the extent to which his designs were the height of luxurious fashion in his day.