NORTH CHINA, CIRCA 1800

The syncopated rhythm of the field design is an optical illusion created between the open and closed segments within each overlapping octagon. Horizontally, vertically or diagonally, the design is forever changing and can be read in any one of these ways. A carpet with a comparable field design was exhibited at the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, Köln, Glanz der Himmelssöhne Kaiserliche Teppiche aus China 1400-1750, London, 2005, p.151, pl.54.