A KHOTAN LONG RUG, EAST TURKESTAN |

'Herat’ floral pattern

Overall measurements: 72cm across the top, 73cm across the bottom, 123cm the left hand side, 122cm the right hand side. Catalogue photograph a bit hot in colour and piece is more attractive in reality. Pile varies from 2-3mm down to knot-bars. The pinkish red of the main rosette border has corroded slightly and there is repair in the upper border and in sections up the sides where the corrosion must have been more extensive; we estimate about 25% of the rosette border is repiled (these areas are visible under black light, and department has photographs should you require them). The localised areas of bright light blue in the field are also repiled. The yellows are partially repiled in areas where the rosette border has had work. The abrash areas of fret-border approximately 18cm in depth on each side are possibly partly replied. The lower end partially rebuilt into border (appears as lighter strip in image). Side cords later re-overcast. Obviously this is a piece that has had work in the past to renovate it. It is now in very sound and usable condition, and is highly decorative.
"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."

For elaboration of the ‘Herat’ floral pattern’ and two comparables with the same field design as the present rug, with the five flower rapport (repeat) and triple flower tendril in a Herat composition, from the 18^th century, on madder grounds in differing border types, see Bidder (1979), pp.74-77, plates XVI & XVII. Herat was an empire stretching from the Tigris to the border of East Turkestan, and the designs used in the region were collectively know as the Herat style, and it is the blossom and lattice patterns that were adopted in Khotan, along with representing the pattern as an overall repeat, creating impression of continuous tendrils. The present field design is unmistakably a Turkestan interpretation from Mughal floral carpets. The floral trellis repeats, the diamond motifs alternating with blue iris motifs, are distinctive Indian influences, and the border type is of Chinese derivation. There are no confirmed production dates for most East Turkestan carpets, and a parallel piece with an almost identical field design (with different border) to the Thyssen example cited, was published as a drawing by Kendrick (1915), pl. XXXV, identified as the property of G.B. Croft of Lyon, who brought the fragment back from Beijing in 1889, and it was therefore described as being a Chinese piece. Earlier sources, including Bidder (1979), have noted that most East Turkestan carpets were sold to the West via the Beijing markets.

For a striking example with this field design against an ivory ground, with a coloured Yün Tsai T'ou border type, see Spuhler (1998), [48-52], pp.184-205, p. 202, No. 52, 19^th century.    

For a 19th century rug (317 by 171cm) with comparable field design on a dark copper/terracotta field, with the golden Yün Tsai T'ou border type, see Wearden (2003), pl. 71 (Inventory Reference 05308 (IS), pp.30. & 80

The carpets and rugs of East Turkestan

East Turkestan (far West China: Xinjiang) geographically is a large region in the Tarim basin in the centre of Asia, isolated from the West, India and China, by moutains in the north, west and south and deserts to the east. The oases situated in the south developed their own characteristic ways of life due to the variety of tribes, religions and cultures, and being on the silk road had various influences upon them. Their carpets and rugs are a striking and identifiable group, and the three known designated tribes from oases along the silk route are those of Yarkand, Kashgar and Khotan and all have distinctive elements in their designs, some of which were used across the centuries, and through the region.

The Yarkand weavings are unmistakable due to their very distinctive pared back designs and limited colour palettes, and combination of elements from Central Asia and China which are symbolic and still resonant. Traditionally they include two predominant designs, one being the ‘vase and pomegranate design’, the field with overall pomegranate boughs with small vases, and the other is the ‘medallion design’, with medallions against plain grounds (See lot 53, for a silk yellow and red example of a ‘vase and pomegranate design’, & lot 59 for an example of a ‘medallion design’ rug). Kashgar, at a major cross roads of the silk road, was a very influential centre for the arts, with sources derived from various cultural sources including India, Turkestan, Persia and China. The earliest Kashgar knotted pile weavings are believed to be from the late 17^th/early 18^th century, and the Mughal influence from India, and especially the lattice pattern, was represented in the silk carpets. See an especially lustrous and elegant example of a floral silk Kashgar carpet in this sale, lot 52.

Khotan administratively was a dependency of Kashgar, and it did not have a court to rival those of Samarkand (West Turkestan) or Herat (Afghanistan), but is recorded as having a favourable reputation as a manufacturing centre for gold, silk carpets, of floral rapport pattern, which according to Chinese accounts by Fu Ching in Chi-yi Hsin-pien, late 18^th/early 19^th century, were a sensation, and they had a distinct five blossom design. Khotan is represented in this sale by three smaller, early 19^th century rugs, including distinctive examples from the ‘coffered gül pattern’, with ‘cloudhead’ motif, lot 45, a version of a yellow ground ‘gül pattern’ with rosettes (uncoffered), lot 82 and a version of the ‘Herat and floral pattern’ lot 86, in stylised borders including a version of the geometric recurring Buddhist swastika character, symbolic of good luck.

Bidder (1979): Bidder, Hans, Carpets from Eastern Turkestan, Washington International Associates, Tübingen, 1979, Chp.III, The Khotan Carpets, D, 1., pp.43-85, 3., ‘The ‘Herat’ and floral style of ‘endless rapport’, pp.74-77, plates XVI & XVII

Kendrick (1915): Kendrick, Alfred Frank, Victoria and Albert Museum catalogue, London, 1915, (pl. XXXV)

Spuhler (1998): Spuhler, Friedrich, The Thyssen –Bornemisza Collection, Carpets and Textiles, London, 1998, Carpets, East Turkestan silk carpets [48-52], pp.184-205, p. 202, No. 52, 19^th century

Wearden (2003): Wearden, Jennifer, Oriental Carpets and their Structure, Highlights from the V&A Collection, London, 2003, pl. 71 (Inventory Reference 05308  (IS), pp.30. & 80