10 x 12 Antique Chinese Art Deco Rug 78185

78185 Antique Chinese Art Deco Rug, 10'02 x 11'07.

With its cold, arid climate ideal for raising sheep, Baotou, a city in the Inner Mongolia region of China, was a major weaving center known for producing high-quality wool. The city was also important due to its location along the trade routes between two other major weaving centers: Ningxia and Beijing. In the second half of the 19th century, a mural painter of temple walls introduced pictorial representations into carpet making in Baotou.

This hand-knotted wool antique Chinese Art Deco rug boasts the realistic pictorial composition and soft, plush pile that are characteristic of the beloved Baotou rugs. Radiating from the center is an open medallion depicting a variety of scholarly objects arranged in a still life design. A Chinese scroll, book, chessboard, lute, and florals are entwined in ribbon-like Ruyi cloud band motifs. The objects on display are firmly rooted in the philosophies of Confucianism, which prizes scholarship and self-cultivation as a means of attaining harmony on earth and an idyllic society.

The intricate floral arrangements in each corner rhythmically dance across the border into the field, creating a sense of splendor and vitality than cannot be contained. The combination of the bounty of rich cultural symbolism and a sumptuous color palette makes for a deeply layered and refined piece.

• Rendered in variegated shades of camel, amethyst, ecru, purple, navy blue, mauve, rose, tawny, lilac, latte, and orchid with other accent colors.
• Abrash. Desirable Age Wear.
• Hand-knotted wool.
• Made in China.
• Measures: 10'02 x 11'07.
• Pile Height: 0.20 of an inch.
• Date: 1920's. Early 20th Century.