Fine Chinese Silk-Souf Rug with metal brocade
271 x 180 cm (8' 11" x 5' 11")
China, late 19th century
Condition: very good, mostly good pile, partially corroded light blue silk
Warp: cotton, weft: cotton, pile: silk and metal brocade

Sumptuous silk and gold brocaded carpets from Beijing are mostly known through examples which bear inscriptions. Associated to the Imperial Palace due to the inscriptions these carpets fetch very high prices regularly at auctions.
These rugs follow almost exclusively a very Chinese design repertoire with dragons, phoenixes, horses, landscapes and depictions of buildings.
This rug however has a border which we find in East Turkestan carpets. Angular three flowers, sometimes in boxes, feature often in Khotan carpets. The main field pattern appears in Kashgar rugs but originates even further west in Persia.
The metal thread brocading technique is thought to have found its way east from the so-called Polonaise carpets which were produced in Isfahan in the early 17th century. We encounter the technique in the 18th century in Kashgar where a Chinese traveller mentions them.
In the mid 19th century British agents noticed that these carpets were still used but the technique was not practised anymore. In the second half of the 19th century metal thread brocading arrived in China and was used for highly luxurious carpets.
In the Museum of Applied Art in Vienna is a Kashgar carpet which in principle shares the same design features.
Angled three blossom flower border and a similar herati style field albeit in a simplified way.
The minor borders are related as well only the pearl border is a nod to more Chinese design traditions. The colours glow jewel like out of the two blues and the pearls in the border are two coloured rather than the simple blue and white version.