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.

Variation of Mandarin Nine Lion Dog Carpet

#20853

Main Hall Carpet

11’9” x 12’

Mid 18^th  Century

Structural Analysis:

Warp:cotton,off-white,natural,Z-4-S,somewhat irregular;

Weft:cotton,off-white,Z-4-S,winder plied, quite irregular;2 shots alternating; wefts thick and soft;

Pile:wool,Z-4;

Knot: PL/0 degrees warp depression/horiz. 6 x vertical 5 = 30 knots per square inch; knots somewhat irregular, some quite thin; [check for T knots along edges]

Sides: two cords each of two body warps, inner directly weft-attached; figure eight sparsely weft yarn wrapped;

Weft/knot ratio: 60/40 wefts predominant.

Remarks:

This is another variant on the popular Mandarin nine lion dog carpet.  The polychrome cloud wreath has exuberant, almost Baroque volutes at the four cardinal points.  The intermediary wreath sections were in field tones and have faded, making the composition rather hard to discern: the wreath would have been more salient before the changes to the long, curved, intermediate sections.

The dominant, dark blue lion dog appears at the top of the medallion and has a wide, particularly expressive face, complete with character creases and a canine snout.  The dog has real personality and individuality, unlike most of the animals in similar carpets. The main dog is alert and lively, with curved and slightly droopy ears.  All the dogs have light colored forepaws and small over pelts.  The creatures are well spaced and not crowded in the medallion.  The protected (protégé) dog is particularly small.  The main dog seems to have no parallels among published carpets and were any to appear, an attribution to the same workshop should be considered.

#18830 NingXia 15’0″ x 15’3″ circa 1770

The corners of the field employ double peony arabesques forming simplified “heart” points at the right angles.  The development here is much more schematic than l8830 and need not indicate the same workshop of origin.  Sprays of tree peonies, butterflies, leafy twigs, fractional tendrils and grassy clusters are spotted throughout the now buff field.

The dark blue peony main border is notable for the rare diagonal corner palmettes from which emanate foliate sprays in both directions in order to make a perfectly symmetric turn.  A bold T-fret inner border in salmon and dark blue has neat T’s in three corners and a single hook in one.  This is a certain indicator, if one is still needed, that no scale paper cartoons were available to the weavers.  Specifically, there was no formal illustration of how to make a fret border turn a corner.

#18355 NingXia 13’6″ x 13’10” circa 1750

As with our other examples, this nine dog main hall carpet was probably woven to the order of a successful Mandarin administrator.  Each of our large lion dog carpets seem to originate in a different shop, although 20853 and l8355 may be more clearly related than the others.  The extreme technical uniformity across the entire local industry deprives us of any unique idiosyncrasies and hence pattern is the sole evidence for differentiation.  One must also keep in mind that the same shop evolved over time, producing different carpets for different clients, changing the design pool when useful and implying a rotating work staff.

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.

#19647 Khotan | As Seen in Rooms With a View

Rug #: 19647

Type: Khotan

Origin: China

Size: 4’8″ x 7’7″

Circa: 1920

When George Marshall Peters of Pamela Bankers office asked if we would be interested in participating in their Rooms  With a View show space we were delighted. The vignette that George had planned out was influenced by a recent trip to Asia, and included a piece of art from his own collection.  The painting contained delicate cranes upon a golden ground, with a rice paper feel, which strongly influenced the rest of the design – and screamed to be accompanied by a soft toned Asian carpet.

With a small (approximately 8′ square) floorplan, wallpaper samples, photos of the furniture, and the feeling of the central art piece in mind, George and I began our search.  Though we pulled a few other options out that could have worked, it was clear that a warm, traditional Chinese piece was the best way to go for the space he imagined.

Photo via MANUFOTO

While George had originally nixed this Khotan as an option due to it’s size, Ramin and I knew it was a great match for the look he was going for.  Many designers will rule out perfectly fitted rugs based on architectural lines drawn on paper, rather than trying the rug in the space.  Upon sight of this carpet though, George agreed to see if it would fit, without making the room feel cramped.

Photo via MANUFOTO

Though the Khotan does fit wall to wall, the vignette was a huge success, each element falling into place beautifully – the carpet really completing the conversation between the other components of the room.  The golden neutral tones of the rug were woven in beautifully with the naturally textured wallpaper and golden collectables placed about, the earthy browns complimenting the darkness of the floor and furniture, and the subtle geometry pulling in the small geometric art elements that George used in perfecting the details of this space.

Additional spaces designed by others can be seen on Quintessence blog.
*written by Katrina Mauro