A Yarkand carpet

The present carpet is one of only six known and published with this striking and emblematic design.  The pattern of three roundels floating on an open red field framed by an arresting sea green border of bold reciprocal trefoils seem to reflect Buddhist symbols.  The red field signifies the sun and realm of the senses, Samsara, with the blue medallions being the spiritual as well as the night, and their roundness a representation of the moon.  The placement of the medallions mirrors those of a Buddha and its flanking Bodhisattvas on the altars of temples. The dramatic border can be interpreted as a stylized cloud pattern as well as archaic rams’ horns. This combination represents a contrast between the mundane and the spiritual with the clouds being a celestial sign and the horns reflective of the earth and the powers of darkness (see Bidder, Hans, Carpets from Eastern Turkestan, Tübingen, 1979, pp. 53-56).

This carpet and its five counterparts share an overall design scheme, with small differences in the details and proportions of border to field.  In the present carpet, the center of each roundel appears to be a pomegranate or solid red orb which differs from the fretwork enclosed within the centers on the five other examples.  The border of the present lot is also less dominant and more in balance with the field than on the other carpets.

The other five carpets sharing this design include a carpet published in Bidder, Hans, op.cit., pl. V; another in Alte Orientteppiche, by Spuhler, Konig and Volkmann, London, 1969, pl. 103; a carpet offered at Christie’s, New York, December 13, 2000, lot 82; and the Meyer-Müller carpet, sold at Christie’s New York, September 11, 1990, lot 128, also published Halevim, Davide, Oasi: memorie e fascino del Turkestan Orientale, Milan, 1999 and Schürmann, Ulrich, Central-Asian Rugs, Frankfurt am Main, 1969, pl. 79; as well as the most recent example to appear on the market, from a Caribbean Estate, sold at Sotheby's, New York, October 1, 2002, lot 270.