- 81
A NINGHSIA RUG, WEST CHINA |
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- approximately 208 by 128cm; 6ft. 10in., 4ft. 2in.
- Qing Dynasty, early 19th century
Condition
Overall measurements: 125cm across the top, 125cm across the bottom, 206cm the left hand side, 203cm the right hand side. Please note the image for this lot is upside down in printed catalogue, the correct orientation is on Sothebys.com. Pile generally very good, between 4-7mm in length. Border ground is a faded red, as is typical with these Chinese rugs. The browns in the fret inner guard and outer surround are partially oxidised. There is some spot re-piling in the browns, lower right hand corner tip is rewoven, and the outermost edges have been partially rebound and partly reinstated, particularly on the right hand side. Reduced at upper and lower end. Upper edge with Velcro backing. e section of repiling in the 'yellow' ground of the border in the centre of the border at the lower edge, and scattered in areas up the right hand lower half of border (reads as brighter golden yellow in the image). There is a small repiled area approximately 5 x4cm in lower right hand field and very minor spot repiling elsewhere. Repairs are old and well executed. Would benefit from a clean. Flexible handle. Unusual design and possibly a little earlier than dated in the catalogue (second half 18th century?). Unusual and elegant deign.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
with the same motif of the endless knot (panchang) motif (symbolic of harmony), in the Textile Museum, Washington, second half 19th century (see Rostov (1983), pl. 49, and for an example with a narrow pearl motif border, 19th century (63 by 50cm) see Herrmann, (1987), Vol. IX, 99a, p.214. The cloudband medallion encloses a variation of the dragon motif, and the auspicious Buddhist swastika character border, which here has ‘3-D’ (alternating light and dark) sections, is a distinctive variation on the geometric border and is found on larger carpets. Due to the size it may well have been a 'kang' (daybed) cover, and the border would complement the surrounding lattice structure of the wooden bed.
Rostov (1983): Rostov, C.I, Guanyan Jia, Chinese Carpets, New York, 1983, pl. 49.
Hermann (1987): Herrmann, Eberhart, Seltene Orientteppiche, Munich, 1987, Vol. IX, 99a, p.214.
A Note on Classical Chinese Carpets
The study of pre- 1800 Chinese carpets is a relatively recent discipline. Carpets from Persia, India and the Ottoman Empire were extensively traded from at least the late 15th century; their aesthetic and commercial value has been well understood by collectors since they first arrived in the West. In contrast, the classical carpets of China were little known until the early 20th century, during the final years of the Qing dynasty, (1636–1912), when they began to appear on the international market. The rug scholar, Arthur Urbane Dilley wrote “The advent of Chinese rugs in America was as dramatic as their quick capture of popular approbation. As if the art arrived from another planet, The American Art Association announced the first sale of it in 1908”1. They were enthusiastically taken up by collectors such as Dilley himself, Louis Tiffany, J K Mumford, Frederick Moore, T B Clarke and the patron of modern art and literature, and collector, Scofield Thayer, whose dais carpet is included in this sale (lot 89). As calculated by Michael Franses 2 some 1,650 ‘antique’ Chinese carpets had been offered across 15 auction sales in New York by 1920, when the sales effectively ceased, as the sources of these pieces dried up. Illustrated examples in the American Art Association catalogues show many pieces in pristine condition, but the depredations of time and use have had their effect. Franses3 suggests fewer than six hundred classical Chinese carpets survive today with the Palace Museum in Beijing having the largest collection, of something less than one hundred, mainly examples from the reign of The Wanli Emperor, fourteenth Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, (1573-1619). In addition there are ‘some sixteen rugs’3 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a similar quantity in the Textile Museum in Washington, mainly from the collection of George Hewitt Myers, with the majority of the remainder held in private collections In Europe and the United States.
This sale offers a unique opportunity to acquire several exemplary examples of Chinese carpet weaving, both published and unpublished. The works offered are in the main attributed to the weaving centre of Ninghsia in Western China, which seems to have seen an expansion in the production and availability of its weavings after a military expedition to the area by the Kangxi Emperor, fourth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, (1662-1722), in 1696-97, during which he asked to see carpets being woven and was presented with several examples.4 Carpets were clearly highly prized as prestigious possessions: virtually all the portraits of the Ming and Qing emperors include depictions of carpets, see König. H. & Franses. M, 2005,5 pp. 19-23, pp.33, 39 for examples. Photographs of interiors of the several halls in the Forbidden City, dating from circa 1900, show how carpets were still being displayed in the palace by that date, see König. H. & Franses. M., ibid, pp.24-25. The sale includes a rare early example of a silk and metal thread carpet inscribed for Imperial use in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, possibly for the throne platform, dated to c.1800, (lot 54). Carpets were used on raised platforms (dais), on beds, kang, as chair, bench, table and saddle covers, to define areas of importance, provide warmth and comfort, and through their motifs and decoration, create a harmonious aesthetic which integrated their symbolism with the other Chinese works of art with which the royal household, their courtiers and officials surrounded themselves. In particular, the Larsson lion-dog medallion with 'hundred antiques' dais carpet, (lot 71) dating from the first half 18th century, and the Thyssen- Bornemisza lion dog medallion and ‘hundred antiques’ dais cover (lot 96), from the second half of the 18th century, exemplify the tradition of using symbols and homophones to decorate works of art. Further information can be found in the catalogue entries for these pieces. This sale also includes examples of carpets and rugs displaying all the key motifs associated with the genre: dragons, designs derived from woven silks, peony and lotus flowers, and complex fretwork and geometric patterns, which together provide a rare opportunity to appreciate the range and subtle beauty of classical Chinese pile weavings.
1 Dilley, Arthur Urbane, Oriental Rugs and Carpets, A Comprehensive Study, Scribner’s, New York, 1931 cited in Franses, Michael, A Brief Introduction to classical Chinese carpets, in Classical Chinese Carpets I, London, 2000
2 Franses, Michael, A Brief Introduction to classical Chinese carpets, in Classical Chinese Carpets I, London, 2000, p.14
3 Franses, Michael , A Brief Introduction, Classical Chinese Carpets in Western Collections, The Kangxi period, 1661 – 1722, London, 2002
4 Franses, Michael , The emperors and their carpets, Classical Chinese Carpets in Western Collections, The Kangxi period, 1661 – 1722, London, 2002, p. 7&10, quoting Du Halde, Description geographique, historique , chronologique, politique et physique de l’empire de la Chine, Vol LV, fol 02, no.39, Biblioteque Nationale, Paris, 1697, p. 372 (26 April)
5 König. H. & Franses. M., Glanz de Himmelssöhne, Kaiserliche Teppiche aus China 1400 – 1750, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln, exhibition catalogue, London, 2005
Rostov (1983): Rostov, C.I, Guanyan Jia, Chinese Carpets, New York, 1983, pl. 49.
Hermann (1987): Herrmann, Eberhart, Seltene Orientteppiche, Munich, 1987, Vol. IX, 99a, p.214.
A Note on Classical Chinese Carpets
The study of pre- 1800 Chinese carpets is a relatively recent discipline. Carpets from Persia, India and the Ottoman Empire were extensively traded from at least the late 15th century; their aesthetic and commercial value has been well understood by collectors since they first arrived in the West. In contrast, the classical carpets of China were little known until the early 20th century, during the final years of the Qing dynasty, (1636–1912), when they began to appear on the international market. The rug scholar, Arthur Urbane Dilley wrote “The advent of Chinese rugs in America was as dramatic as their quick capture of popular approbation. As if the art arrived from another planet, The American Art Association announced the first sale of it in 1908”1. They were enthusiastically taken up by collectors such as Dilley himself, Louis Tiffany, J K Mumford, Frederick Moore, T B Clarke and the patron of modern art and literature, and collector, Scofield Thayer, whose dais carpet is included in this sale (lot 89). As calculated by Michael Franses 2 some 1,650 ‘antique’ Chinese carpets had been offered across 15 auction sales in New York by 1920, when the sales effectively ceased, as the sources of these pieces dried up. Illustrated examples in the American Art Association catalogues show many pieces in pristine condition, but the depredations of time and use have had their effect. Franses3 suggests fewer than six hundred classical Chinese carpets survive today with the Palace Museum in Beijing having the largest collection, of something less than one hundred, mainly examples from the reign of The Wanli Emperor, fourteenth Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, (1573-1619). In addition there are ‘some sixteen rugs’3 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a similar quantity in the Textile Museum in Washington, mainly from the collection of George Hewitt Myers, with the majority of the remainder held in private collections In Europe and the United States.
This sale offers a unique opportunity to acquire several exemplary examples of Chinese carpet weaving, both published and unpublished. The works offered are in the main attributed to the weaving centre of Ninghsia in Western China, which seems to have seen an expansion in the production and availability of its weavings after a military expedition to the area by the Kangxi Emperor, fourth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, (1662-1722), in 1696-97, during which he asked to see carpets being woven and was presented with several examples.4 Carpets were clearly highly prized as prestigious possessions: virtually all the portraits of the Ming and Qing emperors include depictions of carpets, see König. H. & Franses. M, 2005,5 pp. 19-23, pp.33, 39 for examples. Photographs of interiors of the several halls in the Forbidden City, dating from circa 1900, show how carpets were still being displayed in the palace by that date, see König. H. & Franses. M., ibid, pp.24-25. The sale includes a rare early example of a silk and metal thread carpet inscribed for Imperial use in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, possibly for the throne platform, dated to c.1800, (lot 54). Carpets were used on raised platforms (dais), on beds, kang, as chair, bench, table and saddle covers, to define areas of importance, provide warmth and comfort, and through their motifs and decoration, create a harmonious aesthetic which integrated their symbolism with the other Chinese works of art with which the royal household, their courtiers and officials surrounded themselves. In particular, the Larsson lion-dog medallion with 'hundred antiques' dais carpet, (lot 71) dating from the first half 18th century, and the Thyssen- Bornemisza lion dog medallion and ‘hundred antiques’ dais cover (lot 96), from the second half of the 18th century, exemplify the tradition of using symbols and homophones to decorate works of art. Further information can be found in the catalogue entries for these pieces. This sale also includes examples of carpets and rugs displaying all the key motifs associated with the genre: dragons, designs derived from woven silks, peony and lotus flowers, and complex fretwork and geometric patterns, which together provide a rare opportunity to appreciate the range and subtle beauty of classical Chinese pile weavings.
1 Dilley, Arthur Urbane, Oriental Rugs and Carpets, A Comprehensive Study, Scribner’s, New York, 1931 cited in Franses, Michael, A Brief Introduction to classical Chinese carpets, in Classical Chinese Carpets I, London, 2000
2 Franses, Michael, A Brief Introduction to classical Chinese carpets, in Classical Chinese Carpets I, London, 2000, p.14
3 Franses, Michael , A Brief Introduction, Classical Chinese Carpets in Western Collections, The Kangxi period, 1661 – 1722, London, 2002
4 Franses, Michael , The emperors and their carpets, Classical Chinese Carpets in Western Collections, The Kangxi period, 1661 – 1722, London, 2002, p. 7&10, quoting Du Halde, Description geographique, historique , chronologique, politique et physique de l’empire de la Chine, Vol LV, fol 02, no.39, Biblioteque Nationale, Paris, 1697, p. 372 (26 April)
5 König. H. & Franses. M., Glanz de Himmelssöhne, Kaiserliche Teppiche aus China 1400 – 1750, Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln, exhibition catalogue, London, 2005