1790s Rugs and Carpets

In the vast range of Chinese carpets, all Chinese civilization is represented and in the elements that make up the design, all Chinese philosophy is represented, the religions with B...

By having its size previously adjusted, this antique Kazak rug displays an unusual two-medallion design. Here two emerald green polygonal devices dominate the terracotta background, ...

This magnificent carpet is one of the most valuable hand-woven treasures from the Ningxia region of China. Woven approximately 250 years ago, this antique work stands out as one of t...

Antique French Aubusson Rug, country of origin / rug type: French rug, Circa date: 18th Century. Size: 6 ft 4 in x 8 ft 3 in (1.93 m x 2.51 m)

Beautiful example of an Aubusson rug. A fantastic display of floral and scroll designs, handwoven from France. Tons of earth tone colors: browns, greens, beiges, rust/reds, mauve/pin...

An antique Chinese Ningxia square throw rug handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 2' 3" x 2' 4" The craft of the hand-knotted carpet in China, and the surrounding areas including Mongolia and Tibet, extends into the early centuries of the first millennium, C.E., but we really have a firm grasp only beginning in the later 16th century with large, very coarsely woven carpets, often depicting dragons, created for the Imperial Forbidden City palaces. Chinese carpets have always been commercial and there are no tribal groups responsible for any of the carpet weaving strains. When the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644, with no Imperial patrons, production moved to the city of Ningxia in north central China where several workshops turned out more finely woven pieces for the Mandarins of the administrative Ch’ing bureaucracy and well-to-do merchants. Ningxia was the major Chinese carpet center up through most of the 19th century, with first allover and then medallion designs on cotton foundations in medium weaves. Palettes were initially limited to yellows, dark blue and cream, but later widened to include reds, browns and even green. These antiques were the first Chinese carpets to be exported to the West and they fitted in well with the craze for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in the second half of the 19th century. Ningxia also wove shaped and rectangular small rugs for saddle underlays, chair (“throne”) seats and shaped backs, pillar carpets with dragons or monks for Buddhist monasteries, and long divided runners for monastery meditation halls. These small rugs are among the most collectible of all Chinese weavings. Weavers from Ningxia set up workshops in the capital Peking (Beijing) in the 1860’s and began weaving Western room sizes for export, primarily to America. In blue – and – white and polychrome palettes, with round wreath medallions, precious objects, seasonal flowers, paeonies, lotuses, fretwork, clouds, butterflies and bats, all relatively spaciously drawn. The round “Shou” (Good Luck) character is also a prominent decorative motif. There are also a few Peking landscape pictorials with pagodas, houses, bridges, waterscapes and boats. Peking carpets were woven right up until WWII and production began again after the Cultural Revolution around 1970. They are moderately well-woven, on cotton foundations, exactingly executed and indisputably Chinese. Many are in the blue-and-white style. Nothing else looks like a Peking carpet and for a Chinese “look” in a room, they are absolutely indispensable. Sizes range from scatters and a few runners, through the popular 9’12’ size, to large carpets over 20’ which must have been special orders. The earliest Peking Revival carpets are pliable and fairly thin, but they became heavier and more compact in the 20th century, in competition with Art Deco carpets from Tientsin. The modern, post- 1970, pieces are in the traditional Peking style, but are a little too regular and neat. Exactitude has been favored over character, as hard to explain that as it is. There are a number of all-silk and silk-and –metal thread pieces, many with inscriptions purporting to link them with rooms in the Imperial palaces, bringing very substantial auction prices, but none are really antique. The genre emerged after WWI and the present demand comes from mainland Chinese. The silk piles often stand in pattern relief against flat woven gold metal thread grounds. The inscriptions are apocryphal, the rugs are flashily opulent, perfect for nouveaux riches. The Art Deco period between the two World Wars saw a distinctive carpet industry developing in Tientsin (Tianjin) in northeastern China. These are highly prized for their transitional design character, neither overtly Chinese, nor abstractly modern/contemporary. Woven exclusively for export, usually by and for American firms, such as Nichols and Elbrook, they are totally in the “Jazz Age Modern” style of the 1920’s, often without borders, with abstract or abstracted patterns, and only with, at best, a few Chinese-y pattern elements. Vases asymmetrically placed in the corners are features of some of the more Chinese-y carpets. Open fields with floral sprays and branches growing in from the edges are anther design innovation. Often, Chinese motives have been re-imagined in more sharp-edged, abstract manners. Some have no references whatsoever to natural elements. The patterns are sharp and the rugs are never subdued, soft or restrained. The rugs are heavily constructed, with crisp, unfading dyes and medium to medium coarse weaves on cotton foundations. All are extremely well-executed, with none of the vagaries, variations or twists found on even high-quality Persian rugs. The majority are in the 9’ by 12’ format and a surprising number can be found in top condition. There also was a substantial production in Peking from, especially from the Fette factory. Elliptical and round carpets, and lighter, often pastel colors, were a specialty. Nothing looks like an Art Deco Chinese and they work well with traditional Chinese furniture and the most modern decor as well. These is no substitute for a good Chinese Art Deco carpet. Chinese carpets also include small scatters from Tibet, with high quality wool, floating dragons and allover textile patterns. The colors of vintage and modern pieces are bright, but there are antique small rugs...

Early 18th Century French Tapestry ( 4'9" x 8'6" - 144 x 260 cm )

Wool and Silk pattern wefts on wool warp; warps/inch. Beauvais, French Royal Tapestry Workshop under the direction of Nicolas Besnier and Jean – Baptiste Oudry (1734-1753), or A.C. Charron (1753-1780). Designed by Francois Boucher Subject: La Musique (Music) No. 9 of a set of 14 panels “Fetes Italiennes” or “Italian Scenes”, showing peasants and working class folk with a few panels displaying members of the upper classes at play. “Music” is one of these. Boucher’s original drawings for Music (and other tapestries as well are in The Stadelkunst – institute, Frankfort, Germany and in a private, Paris collection. This was Boucher’s first tapestry design commission for the Beauvais factory. His other work includes the “Nobles Pastorales...

Very beautiful 18th century French Aubusson tapestry with beautiful design and beautiful with red, blue and green, entirely handwoven at Aubusson manufacturing with wool and silk wov...

A French Aubusson rustic tapestry from the 18th century, envisioning a wooded landscape in which several youngsters play leapfrog. Enclosed within a scrolling border of fruiting and ...

-French restoration period handwoven antique Aubusson rug, -circa 1830 -wool -290 x 240 cm / 9.5 x 7.87 ft At Boccara Gallery, we have an important collection of Aubusson rugs from the 18th-20th century. The style developed in Aubusson is recognized today as one of the most influential of the European rug and tapestries History. Workshops to produce Aubusson flat-woven rugs were established under the royal warrant in 1743 to manufacture pile carpets primarily for the nobility. Many weavers who settled in France were Huguenots who had fled Spain during the Inquisition in the early 16th century. By issuing the edict of Nantes, Henry IV granted all non-Catholics freedom of worship, thereby protecting the carpet weavers in Aubusson. Aubusson weavers became the finest craftsmen in the world. Louis XIV’s influential Prime Minister Colbert established the long and hard...

76928 Late 19th-Century Antique French Aubusson Verdure Tapestry, Landscape Scene Wall Hanging. This hand-woven silk and wool late 19th-century antique French Aubusson verdure tapestry depicts a landscape scene of the French countryside. Displaying dense foliage, greenery, fauna and flowers, this verdure tapestry portrays a tranquil setting. The floral scroll and bird border seamlessly blends into the pictorial scene without taking away from the majestic style. An outer border composed of a zigzag chevron add interest and a pop of color. Rendered in variegated shades of brown, ecru, taupe, pale green, slate blue, red, pink, lavender, beige and charcoal. The hues of brown range from chocolate brown to lighter shades of brown reflecting a fallow color to sand. Other colors range from ecru (greyish-pale yellow or a light greyish-yellowish brown) to old gold (yellow color that varies from light olive or olive brown) and hues of olive and sage green. With its commitment to tradition and heart full of whimsy, this antique Aubusson wall hanging...