WEST CHINA, CIRCA 1800

The carpets of Kansu are considered to be livelier and brighter in colour than the neighbouring carpets of Ningxia to the East, whilst having a more limited use of yellow compared to its Xinjiang neighbours to the West, Hans Konig, 'Gansu', Hali, Issue 138, pp.52-64. Interestingly, Konig describes the wool used in Kansu carpets as lustrous but coarse, and whilst the present lot is indeed lustrous, its texture is therefore surprising as it is remarkably soft and supple. An extremely similar example with a central rosette medallion on an open field, sold at Rippon Boswell, 28 May 2005, lot 67, although the use of quarter medallions within the corners differs from the rectangular fret spandrels seen in the present lot. The tracery floral roundel is a feature that appears on a Kansu carpet in the collection of James and Stephanie Burns (featured in the Konig article, op cit. fig.15) as well as on two rugs with overall floral repeat patterns, see Hans Bidder, Carpets from East Turkestan, Accokeek, 1979, fig 41 and 41a.