1750s Light Yellow Medallion Antique Chinese Ningxia Rug 5' 4"x 8' 6" Knotted Wool Carpet

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This light yellow-ground Ningxia scatter is a transitional piece between the plain corrosive outer border rugs of the 17th-early 18th … Read more This light yellow-ground Ningxia scatter is a transitional piece between the plain corrosive outer border rugs of the 17th-early 18th centuries and the later all dark blue outer border carpets. The T-fret ribbon style main border has a virtually totally eroded brown ground, clearly a carryover from the earlier pieces. The straw field displays a four peony and arabesque wreath medallion with a mostly asymmetric scatter of tree peony stems, other seasonal flowers and four butterflies positioned near the blue arabesque and peony corners. The central arabesques are particularly well-detailed. The jewels of the dark blue outer minor are banded and have a quasi-three dimensional appearance. This trompe l’oeil effect extends to the ribbon T-meander main border and to the complex internal detailing of the peony blossoms. This effect is often not so prominent on later 18th century Ningxias which tend, even though they are contour cut, toward the flat and planar. See less