CIRCA: 1700’s / 18TH C. (or before?)
An ealry Chinese runner – or ‘long carpet’ – from the Ningxia (or Beijing?) region that has been shortened by rejoining three ‘sections’ of a longer runner and repiling the ends (seemingly done long long ago) which the photos show. Made in the 1700’s / 18th century or before (i.e. possibly late Kangxi era?), of note is it has a wool weft which is almost never found in later Chinese carpets, but is sometimes found in rugs with an earlier provenance. The design features a central shou symbol while the soft-peach coloured main field is filled throughout with blue coloured interlocking angular swastikas in a lattice-like design. The yellow coloured border then features the more simple and characteristic running / interlocking swastika design, which is also the soft-peach colour (as seen in the main field). The size is 250cm x 65cm, it has a cotton warp and a wool weft, all the dyes are natural with the colours still good, and all the wool used is handspun. It has a low knot count consistent with its age; the close-up photo top right shows the underside in the body of the carpet (24kpsi), while on top left shows the underside in the border (30kpsi). One for the collector who doesn’t mind the old restorations and reweaves!
High resolution photos available on request to the serious buyer.