No. 6154, Ning Hsia

beginning of the 19th century, 212 x 141 cm

Internet price EUR 12500.-

Certificate Description

The centre of this carpet displays a rare yellow ground and is surrounded by Buddhist symbols. These are inserted into blue cloudbands with two white lotus flowers. In each of these ornaments, the symbol lies at the centre. The symbols themselves are accompanied by the Chi sign, the sign of the little cloud which means good luck in Buddhist symbolism. The little clouds fill the gaps between the other ornaments and float freely in space. They circle the carpet`s actual centre which contains a rosette in the middle. Flowers and leaves arranged in pairs move outward from this point in a circle. The combination of the little clouds with Buddhist symbolism indicates that the entire middle field is dedicated to this subject. The brackets (corner motifs) are well-developed and ornamented relatively densely with a flower garland. The carpet`s yellow ground is bright and has a very open, free design. The main border is framed by a pearl border on blue ground, as in all other exemplars belonging to this group of carpets. The pearl border functions as the inside border framing the inner field, while the outer border is characterized by superb floral and arabesque ornaments. Each of the large flowers is executed in the carpet`s ground colour and accompanied by a pair of arabesques on the right and on the left. In the spaces between these ornaments, two bats are arranged around an octogonal blue-ground Shu, the sign of good luck. The border`s ornamentation is very regular, with the blue Shu lying in the middle of the upper and lower transverse borders and the upper and lower part of the longitudinal borders. The outer frame is self-coloured dark blue, as in many saddlecloths or shabracks.