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Lot Essay
The Chinese nine character inscription in the upper outer stripe denotes that the carpet was woven for the Palace of Longevity and Peace, Shou Kang Gong situated to the north west of the palace complex within the walls of the Forbidden City, Beijing. Construction of the Palace took place between 1735-36 upon the instruction of the Emperor Qianlong, for his mother, Empress Dowager Chongqing. The imperial dowager consorts lived in the Western Palace of Longevity (Shou xi gong), Middle Palace of Longevity (Shou zhong gong), and the First Abode (tousuo) among other living quarters which were nearby the Palace of Longevity and Health. The East Side Hall was a throne room reserved exclusively for the Emperor when he visited the Empress Dowager’s residence. The palace now houses the museum exhibition of the treasures belonging to the Empress Dowager, revealing facets of the Zhenhuan's daily life and the flourishing material culture of the Qianlong period in the Qing Dynasty.
The design of the rug displays five Imperial dragons that writhe across the burnished metal-thread ground in pursuit of one of the flaming pearls that are placed at either end of the field. Despite the auspicious surroundings in which the rug was to be placed, the weaver has had some fun in the border by adding amusing animals heads to the angular open fret work pattern transforming them into animal-like formations.
It is uncertain whether or not this carpet was ever actually housed in the Palace but if it were, carpets inevitably would have been replaced at regular intervals. Contemporary Western scholarship has traditionally placed these silk and metallic thread carpets as late 19th or early 20th century based on the dyes and weave. Most carpets woven during the late 19th century are copies of earlier carpets yet there are no known examples of Chinese silk carpets with similar designs, let alone examples with metallic thread, from the 17th century or earlier. One wonders if they did exist and are now either destroyed or are yet to be discovered.
The design of the rug displays five Imperial dragons that writhe across the burnished metal-thread ground in pursuit of one of the flaming pearls that are placed at either end of the field. Despite the auspicious surroundings in which the rug was to be placed, the weaver has had some fun in the border by adding amusing animals heads to the angular open fret work pattern transforming them into animal-like formations.
It is uncertain whether or not this carpet was ever actually housed in the Palace but if it were, carpets inevitably would have been replaced at regular intervals. Contemporary Western scholarship has traditionally placed these silk and metallic thread carpets as late 19th or early 20th century based on the dyes and weave. Most carpets woven during the late 19th century are copies of earlier carpets yet there are no known examples of Chinese silk carpets with similar designs, let alone examples with metallic thread, from the 17th century or earlier. One wonders if they did exist and are now either destroyed or are yet to be discovered.