TYPE: a ningxia ‘above saddle’ carpet — sold

CIRCA: early 1800’s (or possibly before)

An ‘above saddle’ carpet made in the Ningxia region of China. These were usually made as a two piece set, that is an odd shaped one for below the saddle, and – usually – an oblong shaped one for above the saddle. The main border features the so-called ‘Greek T’ design that is interspersed with flowers. The deep blue main field has some sort of floral arrangement in the background, which is almost subsumed by a dense field of the so-called ‘footprint of the frog’ design. (A vaguely similar design on an ‘under saddle ‘ carpet from Ningxia can be seen on the cover of the book Dragon and Horse by Koos de Jong.) Overall colour usage remains at a minimum with only golds and blues all from natural dyes, and un-dyed wool. The carpet is in good condition for its age, with wear commensurate with being used as an above-saddle carpet. A collectors piece. ALREADY SOLD.

SIZE: 0.94m x 0.48m

WARP: cotton

WEFT: cotton

KNOT COUNT: 49 kpsi