George Davis Fine Arts Antiques Gallery Rugs and Carpets

An amazing early 20th century Chinese Art Deco runner with a beautiful pale champagne colored field surrounded by a wide grey border. Auspicious peonies dot the field with potted vases...

A wonderful early 20th century Persian Bakhtiari rug with a pattern of alternating cypress trees, rose bushes, and myriad trees with birds, surrounded by a complementary border with ...

This early 20th-century Chinese Art Deco runner is a stunning blend of elegance and rich color. The champagne-colored field exudes a subtle, luminous quality, beautifully offset by a...

A hand-knotted Kilim rug, probably from the Qashqai tribe, circa 1920. Beautifully preserved, this amazing flat-weaved rug combines pure hand-spun wool in natural shade, plus an ar...

An antique East Turkestan Khotan rug in runner format with a pomegranate design handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 2' 2" x 7' 6" Central Asian Rugs Carpets: Central Asia is a vast area stretching from Northeastern Persia to western China, and from northern Afghanistan to the southern edge of Russia. The carpets can be usefully divided into three groups: the nomadic Turkmen rugs of Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, and northeastern Persia; the non-Turkmen tribal pieces from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kirghizstan; and the urban creations of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar, oasis cities of Western China (Xinjiang Province). Commercially, the most important group is from Khotan, the easternmost of the Chinese Turkestan cities. The craft of rug weaving is primarily in the hands of Muslim Uighurs. Khotan carpets mix purely Central Asian design themes with Chinese elements. Native Khotan devices include pomegranate trees, upright flowers, round medallions, and yellow or red grounds. Chinese motives include triangular fretwork corners, swastika fretwork, and Yun-Tsao Tou (clouds and rain) diagonally striped polychrome borders. Cotton foundations, asymmetrical (Persian) knots, and medium weaves are standard. Some vintage Khotan are in horizontal, pictorial layouts with multiple various vases and plants. Saphs (multiple prayer niche panel carpets) are also a Khotan specialty. Others employ stepped and layered lozenge medallions, singly or in pairs. Still others, almost all antique, feature a stylized version of the allover Persian Herati design. Many of the oldest pieces employ brown wool wefts. Antique and vintage Khotans are almost always in the k’ang (double square) layout, conforming to the local household plans. Only relatively recently has the 6’ by 12’ or 7’ by 16’ format been replaced by the 9’ by 12’ size. As a result, an antique room size Khotan carpet is very uncommon. Reds are cinnamon, tomato and rust, never wine reds, crimson, or scarlet. Yarkand, farther west on the old Silk Road specializes in multi-medallion long carpets while Kashgar, farthest west and most under Persian influence, has traditionally knotted allover pattern pieces with finer weaves, often with silk piles, and enriched with medal thread, on cotton foundations. Extant Kashgars go back to the 17th century, but the carpet craft in Chinese Turkestan must be much older as fragments have been recovered from local tombs of the early C.E. period. Kashgars are the rarest of all East Turkestan rugs. Most available vintage East Turkestan carpets are interwar Khotans, many with pleasingly soft decorative palettes. The non-Turkmen nomads include the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Karakalpak groups. Like the Turkmen, they were once all seasonally migratory, dwelling in round felt tents (yurts), but have been settled, at least partially, in the villages, and have taken up crafts and agriculture instead of sheep herding. As a result, carpet production has transitioned from domestic tent use to commercial sale, but the roots of long traditions are still evident. The Uzbeks weave...

A wonderful early 20th century Chinese Art Deco runner with alternating auspicious floral and Shou character medallions set against an indigo background, and surrounded by a beautifu...

An antique Persian Kurd pictorial accent rug handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 4' 2" x 6' 8" Persian rugs carpets: Persia (Iran) is a moderately large co...

A distressed antique Persian Kurd carpet from the late 19th century. Measures: 4' 6" x 6' 1"

A wonderful early 20th century Persian Bakhtiari rug with a beautiful all-over trellis floral pattern with multi-colored large-scale flowers and leaves set against a dark indigo back...

A rare and sweet early 20th century Chinese Peking runner with a field containing an all-over patter of petite flowers woven in pale pinks, greens, and indigos against a light indigo background. The border is unusual too, with a similar petite floral pattern with large Buddhist...

A late 19th century Persian runner with alternating multicolored stripes with all-over paisley design, surrounded by multiple floral borders.

A fantastic early-20th century Persian Hamadan rug with an all-over mirrored trellis pattern of flowers and vines, woven in crimson, pink, light indigo, and white colored wool, on a ...