EAST TURKESTAN, CIRCA 1850

This most unusual silk Yarkand rug appears to have been made for use as a throne cover. The roundel would rest on the seat, the lower floral spray as a foot-mat and the pomegranate tree would cover the back of the throne. Similar arrangements are known in Chinese rugs and also, rarely, in Tibetan rugs (Eiland, Murray L.: Chinese and Exotic Rugs, Boston, 1979, pls.28, 29, pp.48 and 49 and col.pl.29). One Khotan rug in the Textile Museum, Washington must have been woven for a similarly precise function, although in that case the use is not so clear (Schürmann, Ulrich: Central Asian Rugs, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1969, no.91, p.167).