TARIM BASIN, EAST TURKESTAN, MID 18TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE KHOTAN 'GAMING' MAT
TARIM BASIN, EAST TURKESTAN, MID 18TH CENTURY
Full pile throughout, some localised repair
2ft.10in. x 3ft.1in. (87cm. x 94cm.)

Literature

Hans König, 'Happy Squares' Rugs from Xinjiang', Hali, Autumn 2014, p.91, fig.4, and front cover detail

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction. This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Behnaz Atighi Moghaddam

BAtighiMoghaddam@christies.com 44 20 7389 2509

Lot Essay

The yellow field with its striking mauve grid of squares displayed on the present mat, represents a gaming board upon which two players, each marked with an opposing 'x', would have played. Such examples are rare but the closest comparable appears on a very large 15th century silk carpet, that is now in the Museum of Islamic Art, Dohar, Qatar. Known as 'The Ashtapada' carpet, it is considered to have been woven in the Deccan in southern India and bears a large central square medallion, beneath which sits a separate, smaller square, that contains a red ground grid with a yellow border and a single 'X' motif at its centre. When exhibited at the Philadelphia ICOC, 1996, the similarity between the two pieces was noted by Hans König, reaffirming his theory on the close relationship between carpets from India and East Turkestan, (Michael Franses, 'Ashtapada', Hali 167, p.81, fig.1)

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