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Lot Essay
The very unusual carpet has few examples with which it can be compared. The drawing in the border however is certainly very comparable with The Morgan Carpet in the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection (Spuhler, Friedrich: Carpets and Textiles, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, No 48, pp.188-190). The scolling tendrils in the border are very similar indeed in both. Both carpets are woven with silk pile and are identical in length, possibly indicating a loom dimension.
The field design of the present carpet is less idiosyncratic than the Morgan Carpet. It uses however a design that is far purer Chinese than those normally encountered from this origin. A number of velvets of similar design are known, scattered with bats but not on a key-pattern ground. Here however the bats are also wonderfully vivaciously depicted, with a great variety of different postures. It is extremely rare to find a complete Kashgar carpet of this size on the market.
The field design of the present carpet is less idiosyncratic than the Morgan Carpet. It uses however a design that is far purer Chinese than those normally encountered from this origin. A number of velvets of similar design are known, scattered with bats but not on a key-pattern ground. Here however the bats are also wonderfully vivaciously depicted, with a great variety of different postures. It is extremely rare to find a complete Kashgar carpet of this size on the market.