A Ninghsia carpet, West China,

Sotheby's New York, December 1, 1984, lot 110.

Although the simplicity of the field design with its archaic four dragon medallion and spandrels would suggest an 18th century origin, the density of the border treatment appears to be in the 19th century style. The saturated yellow border with pairs of lively floral dragons chasing shou symbols is unusual although dragons flanking flaming pearls can also be seen on a mid-nineteenth century rug, see: Eiland, Murray, L., Chinese and Exotic Rugs, New York, 1979, no. 19.  A carpet with a similar  border is depicted in a portrait of Hsein-Feng, the sixth Emperor of the Ch'ing dynasty, (1851-1862), see: Hyman, Virginia Dulany and Hu, William C. C., Carpets of China and Its Border Regions, Anne Arbor, Michigan, 1982, pl. XIX.