Peking Chinese Silk and Metal Thread Rug

Stock ID: 23742

Peking Chinese Silk and Metal Thread Rug

Peking, Northeast China

4’ x 7’

Early 20^th Century

Silk pile of Asymmetric Knots with Gold Metal Thread Brocading

Inscribed: “For Palace of Harmony usage only”

Most of the silk and metal thread rugs, ostensibly, according to their inscriptions, made for the Imperial palaces in the Forbidden City, display five writhing, scaly dragons, one central and full faced, the others more in profile in the corners, all executed in knotted silk pile on flat-woven gold grounds.  This one, in perfect condition, shows a meditating Buddha with an enormous flaming halo, seated in a Lotus Position, between stipple shaded rocky mounds displaying irises/ peonies.  Above is an umbrella signifying royalty, and scattered about are cloud bands, cloud knots and precious objects including: a cord knot, vase, wheel and scroll (?).  At the bottom of the field is a scalloped and frothy sea with curling surf and droplets of foam.  The usual stylized mountain rising from the waves is absent, replaced by a wave peak.  Out of the sea climbs a vine supporting the Buddha’s lotus seat.  The Buddha holds some sort of fruit, perhaps a citron or pomegranate, in his left hand, with the other lowered in the position of Calling the Earth to Witness.  He is crowned and wears a double jeweled collar with a pendant ornament.  His chest is exposed, but otherwise he is robed.  The top knot on his head (urna) is consistent with the usual Buddha iconography.

This rug looks to be taken directly from a Buddhist thangka hanging scroll.  It was clearly designed as a wall-hanging, and displays none of the usual symmetries of even the most luxurious Chinese dragon silks.  There are the remains of hanging loops on the upper plain-weave end band.  The main red border shows tilted flowers somewhere between chrysanthemums and peonies, connected by leafy arabesques.  The central border shows a T-fret pattern with simple knot corners.

The originally bright gold ground has tarnished to an attractive brownish tone.  The metal thread is composed in the usual Chinese manner: with gold leaf adhered to a paper substrate and then wrapped around a silk core.  Metal thread without a silk core tends to break and cannot be woven smoothly.  The silk pattern stands in relief against the metal thread ground much as in Persian Souf technique rugs.  The combination of silk pile and metal ground is found on antique Kashgar carpets from Xinjiang, but the use of the technique in Peking seems to be a circa 1900 innovation.  The weave is medium and extremely even.

To view this rug on our website, click here.

Peking Carpet with Adapted Silk Textile Design

#19307

Beijing Carpet

Northeast China

370 x 417 cm

Circa 1880’s

The field design on this top condition antique Peking (Beijing) carpet is adapted from silk brocade textiles.

The beige field displays a taupe-rust allover pattern of grape leaves and short, curled arabesque segments accented by coiled, archaic navy dragons and tiny rosettes. The dragons center lightly defines eight lobed medallions.

The central dragon and its encircling double medallion are somewhat larger than the others. The dragons are in a 17^th century Ningxia style and ultimately depend on ancient archetypes on bronzes and ceramics.

The medallions are arranged in a 2-3-2-3-2-3-2 layout. The pattern stops just at the border frame and does not pass under it.

The ivory main border alternates ecru stencil-style lotus palmettes with bi-tonal medium blue and navy vine leaves, with attached tendrils. The plain outer border is in a rusty taupe shade.

There is light carving throughout to accentuate the pattern. The foundation is all cotton, and the Tibetan wool pile is of excellent quality. The handle is relatively pliable, and the texture is thick and meaty. This carpet has no repairs and is in top condition.

To view this rug on our website, click here.

The Chinese Carpet Dragon

The dragon is a mythical animal, but you’d never know it from looking at antique Peking Chinese carpets. The Chinese consider the dragon to be a composite of several actual animals: horse, snake, fish, etc.  The phoenix, adapted from gold and silver pheasants, and the kylin, with ungulate hooves and flaming leg joints, are among the other popular mythical creatures appearing on Peking Chinese carpets. But the dragon is by far the most popular. Originally emblematic of the emperor and empire, the dragon came to symbolize anything Chinese. Put a proper style dragon on it, the Chinese reference is automatic. Hence a carpet with a dragon appears Chinese. The dragon(s) set the general tone of origin. The notion of the five-claws dragon being imperial and those with fewer having a lower status was, by the nineteenth century, ignored. Every dragon had five claws on each foot. Dragons appear on large carpets, small scatter rugs and chair furnishings. No listing can be complete, but our extensive collection of antique Peking Chinese rugs and carpets provides a uniquely broad conspectus of these dynamic animals.

The Chinese dragon is a benign beast, no matter how fierce it looks. Dwelling primarily in the clouds, it brings rain, so essential to what for millennia was a primarily agrarian economy.

The dragon appears on antique Peking imperial carpets made for the Forbidden City Palaces from at least the late  16^th century. Although we do not have one of these, our no. 19737 is a close copy of an early 17^th century carpet. The iconography has already been fixed: a full face central dragon, four corner dragons  in profile, flaming pearls and clouds scattered about, waves and mountains for a border. The dragon is not intended to be goofy, but the weavers can’t help it.

#19737 Chinese – Peking 8’7″ x 9’4″

The five dragon layout can be condensed to antique Chinese chair seat size as displayed on our nos. 22000 and 22074, the latter on a rare dark blue ground. These are Ningxia rather than Peking in origin, but they 8illustrated the basic design protocols. Blue and white is always a popular Chinese color scheme and  dragons make it even more exotic, as on 22893.

22079

The central dragon may be embedded in a circular medallion while the four corner dragons writhe freely as in our nos.  22297 and 22576.

[illustrations of 22297 and 22576]

The full face central dragon may be replaced by a profile beast, as on our antique Peking carpet #23012 Chinese – Peking 8’0″ x 5’2″

Dragons may  share the carpet with phoenixes  or actual animals. A phoenix medallion and corner dragons is a popular  field layout as on 40-2269. The entire gamut of twelve zodiacal animals may be dominated by a dragon, the only mythical beast, as on a blue and white antique Peking rug no. 22314

[illustrations of 40-2269, 22314]

The usual celestial dragon may be opposed by a rare terrestrial  creature wrapped around a needle-like peak as on   22809 and 23144, both blue and white from the same shop and designer.

[illustrations of 22809 and 23144]

A veritable herd of dragons appears in the field and border of the antique Peking rug 22458 with composite foliage dragons in the medallion, corners and border, 14 in all

#22458 chinese -peking 9’0″ x 7’3″

 

There are a few amusing dragon variants in  Peking Chinese antique rugs that cannot escape notice. Three dimensional dragons wrap the border and extend into the field which is centred by a dragon and phoenix medallion in carpet no. 22921. A blue and white carpet (no. 22808) displays eight winged dragons, a Western rather than Chinese conceit.

[illustrations of 22921. 22808]

#22808 chinese-peking 6’0″ x 8’9″

Finally, consider the small, almost secretive dragons as heads emerging from fretwork or vinery. This design convention goes back to at least Han dynasty times on bronzes and on rugs to the seventeenth century. A few examples on Peking antique carpets will suffice: 22837,  22942.

[illustrations of 22837, 22942.]

The dragon is a universal beast, but it first appears in Chinese art and any rug that prominently displays it is likely to be Chinese, most likely a Peking Chinese carpet of the 1880-1940 period. Our collection of these attractive and decorative carpets, so imaginatively rich, is the most comprehensive anywhere.  Here there be dragons.