How much does Aubusson tapestry restoration cost?

There is no flat rate: every Aubusson tapestry restoration is quoted individually, because condition, size and weave density vary too widely. The assessment from photographs is free and takes 48 hours. Restorations above €2,500 can be paid in 12 interest-free instalments.

How long does antique tapestry restoration take?

Antique tapestry restoration takes 2 to 18 months, depending on condition and surface. A localised selvedge repair takes about six weeks; a central reweave with full relining over 4 m² takes 10 to 14 months. Every step is documented and approved by you before the next begins.

Do you restore Gobelins, Beauvais and Flemish tapestries as well as Aubusson?

Yes — we restore Gobelins, Beauvais, Flemish tapestries and wall-hung kilims as well as Aubusson. The foundation (the structural network of warp threads that carries the design) is repaired the same way across the great weaving traditions, from silk and gilt-metal Gobelins threads to fine, dense Beauvais weaves.

Will restoration affect the value of my tapestry?

No — a documented, reversible restoration increases the value of an antique tapestry rather than reducing it. Every intervention we carry out is reversible and photographed, so the piece's history stays legible. Our restoration certificate is recognised by auction houses and specialist heritage insurers.

Should a tapestry be cleaned before it is repaired?

Yes, almost always: a tapestry should be cleaned before it is repaired. Embedded dust abrades the fibres and dulls the colours, so most restorations begin with a gentle hand wash in our tapestry cleaning workshop. Cleaning also reveals weaknesses that photographs cannot show.

Do you collect tapestries outside the Paris region?

Yes — we offer free pickup and delivery across France, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Your tapestry travels with a specialist art carrier, fully insured, to and from our workshop in Sartrouville, 20 minutes from central Paris. Collection is arranged at a date that suits you.

Aubusson Tapestry Restoration · Tapis Boeuf, since 1950

Aubusson
Tapestry
Restoration

Aubusson tapestry restoration is carried out by hand at Tapis Boeuf, a family atelier founded in 1950. Our restorers reweave, needle-repair, reline and re-dye antique tapestries, with a written 10-year guarantee.

Antique tapestry restoration —
four figures worth knowing.

Tapis Boeuf is a family atelier with over 75 years of expertise in antique tapestry restoration, accredited by national museums and specialist heritage insurers. From our workshop in Sartrouville, 20 minutes from central Paris, we restore Aubusson, Gobelins, Beauvais and Flemish tapestries.

Years
of family atelier

Generations
of restorers

Years of guarantee
on every restoration

4.9★

148 Google reviews
verified

— Case study · Dossier No. 08

Aubusson tapestry restoration:
an 18th-century verdure, in 14 months.

The piece · 4.20 × 3.40 m · Wool & silk · June 2024 — August 2025

Aubusson tapestry restoration — badly damaged 18th-century Aubusson arriving at the workshop

Arrival at the workshop · June 2024

Chapter I

The diagnosis.

This Aubusson arrived rolled in a linen sheet, inherited from a great-aunt. Nearly a square metre of weft (the horizontal threads that carry the design) had dissolved. The right selvedge (the woven side edge) had come undone, and the colours lay dulled under eighty years of dust.

Documented in family archives since 1842, the piece deserved a full campaign — beginning with a 64-photograph condition report.

Restorer taking notes while mapping the Aubusson tapestry

Mapping the interventions

Chapter II

The quote & the decision.

Two options for the family: minimal stabilisation — three months, visible repairs — or full restoration over fourteen months, in twelve interest-free instalments. We recommended the second. The piece was worth it.

“Some works cannot be half-repaired. This was one of them.”

III

Reviving the colours of the Aubusson tapestry with a fine brush

Colours matched fibre by fibre

Chapter III

The dyes.

Aubusson verdures call for fourteen distinct greens. We dyed them all by hand — indigo with weld for the light tones, indigo with walnut for the deep ones. Every skein was checked in daylight against the sound areas of the original.

Needle repair closing a hole in the Aubusson tapestry

Seven months of needlework · 40,000 stitches

Chapter IV

The needle.

Seven months. Our restorer sets around 300 stitches a day, by hand, in cool natural light, working across the piece in twenty-centimetre squares.

Progress was photographed weekly and approved in writing before each new zone.

Hand-sewing a natural linen lining to the back of the tapestry

Sewing the linen lining to the back

Chapter V

The lining.

The back received a washed natural-linen lining (the protective cloth that carries the tapestry's weight), hand-sewn across the full surface, with Velcro banding along the top for museum-style hanging.

Restored Aubusson tapestry hung back on the château wall

Back at the château · August 2025

Chapter VI

The delivery.

August 2025. The tapestry returned to its original wall in the Loire Valley, carried in a climate-controlled art transporter. Installation took one day.

The family received the heritage certificate and the written 10-year guarantee — a dossier of 83 pages.

Aubusson
Tapestry
Restoration

They entrusted us with their rugs

Antique tapestry restoration —
four figures worth knowing.