NINGXIA RUG
QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY
清 寧夏團花紋毯an arrangement of eight floral roundels intermittent with butterflies, flowers, pomegranate and buddha-hand citrus sprays against a burnt orange field, enclosed by a beaded border further with a larger floral border
184.5cm x 124.5cm
From the collection of George Forrest (13 March 1873 - 5 January 1932), Edinburgh. George Forrest was an important Scottish botanist born in Falkirk. In 1904, he was sponsored by a horticulturist and cotton broker- Arthur Kilpin Bulley (1861-1942), to embark on an expedition to China's then-remote southwestern province of Yunnan, in search of plants new to horticulture in Europe, particularly species of rhododendron. Altogether, Forrest made seven trips to the region, ranging as far afield as upper Burma, eastern Tibet and Sichuan province. In 1932, he passed away just outside of the town of Tengchong, previously known as Tengyue or Tengyueh.His Asian Art collection was partially donated to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. This rug was on loan for decades, loan number A.L.331.1, with an associated museum tag label inscribed ‘L331.1’, deaccessioned in 2023, thence by direct descent. The old photograph shows Mr Forrest outside the China Inland Mission Moongate in Dali, taken around 1905.We would like to express our gratitude to 'George Forrest / Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’ for providing the old photograph and its information. 
Two comparable Ningxia rugs, similar in design, were in the collection of Arthur M. Sackler, sold at Sotheby's New York, 16 September 2009, lot 68 & 70