Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet
Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet

Mid-18th Century W. Chinese Ningxia Carpet

This light yellow-ground Ningxia scatter is a transitional piece between the plain corrosive outer border rugs of the 17th-early 18th centuries and the later all dark blue outer border carpets. The T-fret ribbon style main border has a virtually totally eroded brown ground, clearly a carryover from the earlier pieces. The straw field displays a four peony and arabesque wreath medallion with a mostly asymmetric scatter of tree peony stems, other seasonal flowers and four butterflies positioned near the blue arabesque and peony corners. The central arabesques are particularly well-detailed. The jewels of the dark blue outer minor are banded and have a quasi-three dimensional appearance. This trompe l’oeil effect extends to the ribbon T-meander main border and to the complex internal detailing of the peony blossoms. This effect is often not so prominent on later 18th century Ningxias which tend, even though they are contour cut, toward the flat and planar.
Stock ID: #23698
General Rug Type: Chinese
Specific Rug Type: Chinese - Ningxia
Circa: 1750
Ground Color: Yellow
Border Color: Navy
Origin: China
Material: Wool
Weave: Pile - Knotted
Shape: Rectangle
Width: 5' 4" ( 163 cm )
Length: 8' 6" ( 259 cm )
Description
Chinese

Carpets made in China proper. See entries Ningshia, Peking, Art Deco.

Chinese - Ningxia

The western Chinese province of Ningshia has a mostly Muslim population and is the source of many of the oldest Chinese carpets of the modern (Ming Dynasty and later) era. The designs are typically Chinese: fretwork or Greek key boarders, pacony palmettes, bats, butterflies, Fu dogs, clouds, dragons, shou symbols, etc. Pollar carpets designed to wrap around monastery columns and displaying a dragon above waves are a specialty. The weave is coarse and soft, with several wefts between knot rows and a longish pile. Yellow golds, dark and light blues are common colors. The outer most plain border on pre 1800 examples is a corrosive brown. Formats include: large square “throne” carpets, paralleled meditation runners, chair seats and scalloped backs.

Tearsheet Download

Video