CIRCA: 1930
A unique pictorial carpet from the Baotou-Suiyuan region of China depicting a hawk or eagle resting on a gnarled old tree, staring down a tapir (which once existed in ancient China), who in turn stairs right back. Although there are many Baotou carpets depicting animals, mostly horses or deer, in ‘natural scenes’, the pairing of an eagle and tapir as shown here is rather rare. And as visually attractive as it is, surprisingly there are only three colours used overall in the carpet (i.e. browns, white and blue) and the browns and white / off-whites are natural (i.e. un-dyed) wool, while the blue appears to be from natural dye. The main border depicts two rows of interlocking / overlapped flower rosettes intriguingly arranged and hence very attractive in its own right. There is negligible wear overall as the carpet appears to have been displayed mounted on a wall as a decorative piece rather than used on the floor (although displayed on the floor would suit it just as well). It has cotton warp and weft, was made circa 1930 and is a unique decorative carpet with good age and in very good condition suited for the floor or wall and sure to be an attention grabbing conversation piece.