Chinese rug - Lot 262

Chinese rug Cotton warp and weft, wool pile The rug is enhanced by an elegant polychrome scroll and lotus flower design on a blue ground, with an ivory flower garland border around the composition. Probably from the Peking region, Northeast China circa 1900 Height 386 ; Width 311 cm (wear) Bibliography: E. Gans-Ruedin - "Le tapis de Chine", Office du Livre- Editions Vilo, Paris, 1981, p.97-98. "Beijing, the capital of China, is situated in the south-west of a small plain which appears to be an extension of the vast plain of northern China, covering the province of Hebei and most of the provinces of Henan, Shandong and Anhui. Like Shanghai and Tianjin, it is an autonomous municipality. It seems that, from the very beginning of history, the Beijing region was an important crossroads between the great plain centers of the Yellow River and the mountainous regions of the northeast. Remains of an early settlement have been discovered near the present-day Marco Polo Bridge. The city's past was eventful. Capital under the name of Ji in the 4th century BC, it was destroyed in 226 BC, then reappeared in Han times under the name of Yan. It regained its title of capital under the Tang (618-907), the Khitan (936-1122) and the Khurtch in 1153. Beijing boasts a number of factories that knot classical Chinese-style carpets, or pieces with so-called floral or aesthetic designs, also produced in other Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin. "