CHINESE RUGS
THE existence of Chinese rugs of age and merit was almost unknown to the
Western world until the close of the last century, when a few pieces
reached Europe, where they aroused the just admiration of art
connoisseurs. About the beginning of this century a larger number, which
were obtained during the Boxer revolution by reason of the spoliation of
homes, temples, and palaces, that never before had been entered by
foreigners, were exported to this country. In New York City, between the
years 1908 and 1910, some of them were sold at public auctions for
prices that stimulated collectors in China to search for more. But they
have proved to be scarce when compared with other Oriental rugs, so
that, as yet, the general public are only slightly familiar with them.
Moreover, little is known about their antecedents, for written records
are exceedingly meagre. It has been suggested that many were made in
Eastern Turkestan along the highways that extend to Persia and India.
But it is more probable that they were woven in Eastern China, where
other branches of art reached a remarkable development under the
patronage of wealthy mandarins and the imperial court. Even if they are
not the product of an indigenous growth, the knowledge of weaving may
easily have been acquired from Western Asia; since it was not unusual
several centuries ago to import weavers from one country to another to
instruct native craftsmen. Furthermore, the features which at a glance
differentiate these rugs from all others, proclaim their Chinese
character. The diaper patterns that cover the fields of some of them,
and the foliate and floral forms that appear in most of them, not only
are unlike those of any other groups, but have well-known Chinese
elements. A more distinctive feature are the colours, which are
relatively few. Many of them, as tan, yellow, and blue, are of shades
unlike what are seen in other rugs. Even more distinctive than these are
the reds, which never have the primary colours found in other groups but
resemble the tints of ripe apricot, peach, pomegranate, and persimmon.
Similar tones are seen in old Chinese porcelain. The geometric and
floral ornamentation also shows relationship to what is found in the
products of other branches of Chinese art. More characteristic still are
the small designs which are so related to the philosophic and religious
thought of the people and to the industrial and social life that their
Chinese origin is unmistakable.
Though it be granted that nearly all were woven in Eastern China, it is
not possible satisfactorily to assign them to different classes based on
locality; yet without doubt important distinctions, observable also in
the early paintings and porcelains and resulting largely from
differences of race and character of country, exist between those woven
in Northern China, where the highest appreciation of art existed, and
those woven in Southern China. It is probable, however, that such marked
local distinctions as are found in other groups never existed in Chinese
rugs. Such distinctions as do exist relate more to stages in development
of the textile art, so that the natural classification is based on the
successive periods when they were woven.
The absence of written and traditional history regarding the weaving of
these periods is by no means an insuperable obstacle to such
classification. By a careful examination of large numbers of rugs, it is
possible to arrange them with reasonable accuracy in series that
represent progressive forms of ornamentation and design from the archaic
to the modern. A most important aid to this arrangement is the
interdependence so conspicuous in the several arts of China; for designs
of innumerable articles with well-established ages, especially of the
ceramic art, have been copied by the weavers.
Technical peculiarities in weaving are also an aid in determining the
period to which rugs belong. An important distinction, for instance,
often exists in the manner in which the material is spun. If pieces of
yarn be taken from old rugs and carefully examined, as they are
untwisted, the simpler, cruder methods of spinning practised in former
days are often apparent. In some of the oldest fabrics that remain the
wool was very loosely spun. Irregularities in the size of yarn are also
more noticeable in old than in modern pieces.
[Illustration: PLATE 60. BELUCHISTAN PRAYER RUG]
More important often in determining the relative age of a rug than
either design or technical peculiarities of weaving, is the shade of
colour; for however excellent were the original dyes and whatever care
was exercised in their application, they slowly changed under the
mellowing influence of time to tones that are obtained by no human
process. Furthermore, as is the case with porcelains, certain colours
were peculiar to certain periods. For instance, golden browns are seen
mostly in pieces woven before the middle of the XVIII Century, and azure
blue in pieces woven before the XIX Century. Yellow with a lemon or
citron cast is found principally in pieces woven since the beginning of
the XVIII Century; and green is rarely found in pieces woven before the
middle of the XVIII Century. Aniline dyes were not introduced into China
much before the year 1870. The time when a rug was woven may safely be
regarded as not more remote than the period when the ornamentation and
designs it contains were generally adopted; yet it may be much more
recent, as the oldest designs were copied even after the adoption of
newer ones. It is necessary, then, in determining the age of a rug to
consider not only the evidence of the spinning, the weaving and designs,
but also the evidence of colour.
Though Chinese rugs have features that distinguish them from other
groups and divide them into separate classes; they also have many
features in common. All are woven with the Sehna knot. In all but the
earliest rugs the warp and weft are of cotton; each thread of warp is
equally prominent at the back; and the weft, which is coarser than the
warp, crosses twice between two rows of knots. The nap of both old and
modern rugs is almost always wool or silk, and rarely, if ever, jute or
cotton. The sides are finished by carrying the weft around the outer
threads of warp, but never so as to form a wide selvage. The lower end,
as a rule, has a very narrow web and warp loops; and the upper end has a
narrow web and fringe. Compared with other groups they are generally
more loosely woven. These and other features of resemblance and of
distinction will be more fully noticed in considering the rugs of
different periods.
In rugs of this group are constantly seen symbols intimately associated
with the religious and philosophic thought of China. One of them is the
Sacred Mountain rising out of the waves of eternity, which is an old
Chinese emblem, though more frequently found in rugs of Samarkand and
Yarkand. Others are the cloud-band and the Joo-e. There are also
mythical creatures, as the dragon, emblem of imperial power; the Ky-lin,
partly deer, partly unicorn; the Fung-Kwang or phœnix; and the
lion-dog. Still other symbolic and decorative designs are the figure
Shou and the stork, emblems of longevity; the bat and butterfly,
denoting happiness; the conch, wheel of law, and the two fishes, which
are Buddhist emblems; and the lyre and chess board, which are symbols of
the literati.
It is not improbable that rugs were woven during the Sung dynasty
(960-1280 A. D.), when for nearly three centuries prosperity prevailed,
literature and art flourished, and the court at Hang Chow was maintained
with imperial splendour; but as far as is known, none of them exist. Nor
do any remain that may have been woven during the Yuan dynasty
(1280-1370) distinguished by the reign of the illustrious Mongol prince,
Kublai Khan; though designs appearing in later rugs were used in kindred
arts of these and preceding periods.
MING RUGS.—The oldest Chinese rugs that remain were probably woven near
the end of the Ming period, or during the first half of the XVII
Century. It may reasonably be assumed that they were superior in quality
to those of any former period, since during this time Persia and India
were producing their greatest woven masterpieces; and other branches of
Chinese art were marked by an advance over the work that had preceded.
Yet, on the whole, it was a period of ebb in the splendid
accomplishments of intellectual and artistic effort that marked the Tang
and Sung dynasties.
Such pieces as exist are distinguished by careful workmanship, archaic
designs, and sobriety of colour. Most of the rugs were woven with warp
and weft of cotton. Some, intended principally for wealthy mandarins or
the imperial court, had pile of silk attached to warp and weft of
cotton; and others were made entirely of silk. Fewer in number, but
constituting the most sumptuous products of the Chinese weavers’ art,
were the rugs of silk woven on a web of metal threads.
The field of many of these early rugs contained all-over patterns.
Sometimes the repeat designs are of octagonal shape and are arranged in
horizontal and perpendicular lines, so as to leave small diamond-shaped
spaces between diagonally placed octagons. Within these designs are
often the emblems of happiness or longevity, floral motives, and
sometimes archaic dragons. In another well-known pattern the field is
completely covered with a swastika-fret and marked at regular intervals
with diagonal rows of bats, emblematic of happiness. Occasionally a
field of plain colour contains an irregular arrangement of objects used
for sacrificial or sacred purposes. Again, it may be covered with an
all-over pattern of small archaically drawn dragons resembling some of
the earliest designs in Chinese decorative art, or of most
conventionalised floral forms on mechanically drawn stems.
The essential feature, however, of a large number of these rugs, and one
that probably antedates the all-over pattern, is a central medallion
surrounded by a field that is either plain, that is marked with a
subdued diaper pattern, or contains what is known as the “tiger skin”
pattern, consisting of waving lines repeated throughout the field. The
medallions may be either octagonal or, as is more frequently the case,
rounded; but the defining lines are angular and generally represent
frets. Sometimes they contain archaic dragons, which are so
conventionalised in a few pieces that it is apparent that from them
originated many of the Chinese scrolls. In other pieces, the shape of
the central medallions and the designs which cover them suggest most
forcibly that they were copied from old mirror backs. The corners of the
fields may contain simple scrolls, but more frequently they correspond
closely in drawing with the central medallions.
The borders are equally typical. They are invariably narrow, and
generally consist of a single stripe which is figured and surrounded
with a coloured edging. Probably over three quarters of the rugs of this
period have a stripe with a pattern of swastika-frets. Two of these
stripes, which are very old patterns, are illustrated in Plate N, Figs.
1 and 2 (opp. Page 274). Occasionally some form of the key pattern
appears in the inner stripe, but almost all Chinese rugs that have two
border stripes with figures belong to a later period. Many of the oldest
borders are without figured stripes, and consist merely of one or more
stripes of plain colour.
The few colours used in the rugs of this period have deep, rich tones.
Undyed dark brown or blackish wool was occasionally used in the outer
edging that surrounded the field or in the narrow border stripes; but
more frequently the same colour effect was obtained by the use of
corrosive dyes that in time have often eaten the wool almost to the
foundation of warp and weft. Wools dyed with corrosive browns are also
used in the fields and enhance the effect of designs of contrasting
colours, which stand out in bold relief. Other colours, as soft dull
yellow and shades of blue, are also seen in the borders. The field is
usually richer. In some pieces it is a deep red; in others it is a soft
yellow, golden brown or yellowish tan, that shows the effect of time on
what were originally several shades of apricot. Dark and light blues,
sky blue, and robin’s egg blue, as well as jade green and bottle green,
are also found in these old pieces. In the metal and silk rugs the glint
of silver even though tarnished, adds lustre to colours that have grown
deeper and richer with age.
KANG-HI.—During the first years of the Tsing dynasty, that continued
from 1644 to its recent overthrow, the country was so occupied by wars
waged between the conquering Manchoos and the still resisting followers
of the Ming dynasty that art was nearly at a standstill. But during the
reign of the illustrious Kang-hi, 1662-1722, art revived and enjoyed one
of the most splendid periods of its history. There is, however, a
noticeable difference between the rugs that belong to the early and to
the late part of this reign; so that it is convenient to divide them
into the early Kang-hi pieces, that were woven during the last part of
the XVII Century, and the late Kang-hi pieces, almost all of which were
woven at the beginning of the XVIII Century. This division is also
convenient; as many rugs cannot be definitely assigned to the reign of a
particular emperor, and, accordingly, the broader distinction of
assigning them to different centuries is frequently adopted.
In weaving, as in making porcelain, many of the products of the late
Ming were still copied during the early Kang-hi period, but there was a
freer use of colour and a more decorative ornamentation. Many of the
figures are still geometric. Frets are conspicuous in the fields of
large numbers of these pieces. The dragon also is a favourite motive;
but in the scrolls that represent the legs and bifurcated tail, and in
the conventionalised head, the resemblance to the mythical monster is
almost lost. Sometimes two or more of these constitute a medallion in
the centre of the field, in which others are grouped with regularity;
while similar forms occupy the corners. Some of the rugs in which the
fields are covered with sundry objects, as scrolls, vases, altar pieces,
and sacred plants, also belong to this period. The borders of these and
late Kang-hi pieces have frequently an outer edging of brown and a
single border stripe with swastika-fret. In a few pieces, the stripe has
a well-balanced scroll which has been developed from designs of
conventionalised dragons and frets that appear in the central
medallion and in the corners of the field. Occasionally, however, there
is an inner stripe with the key meander. The colour scheme of the late
Ming, including the golden browns and deep blues, is largely employed in
rugs of this period.
[Illustration: PLATE 61. TURKOMAN SADDLE-BAGS]
The same influences that resulted during the late Kang-hi period in the
remarkable development of decorative art as applied to porcelains,
produced a corresponding effect in the rugs woven at the same time.
Manchurian ideas and taste gave renewed spirit to earlier Chinese style.
The fields were not infrequently covered with sub-patterns of fret work,
on which medallions appeared more prominently. The geometric figures
were largely supplanted by foliate forms. Even when the central
medallions and corner figures are of frets or stiffly conventionalised
dragons, the fields are often covered with delicate scroll or foliate
sub-patterns that support floral forms resembling the lotus or the
peony. The drawing of some of these has a Western character, and there
is little doubt that at this time the art of Persia had a strong
influence on the weaving of China. In other pieces of this class, the
foliate and floral forms no longer appear as sub-patterns but become the
prominent feature in the decoration of the field; and the
conventionalised flowers are arranged with precision in diagonal or
perpendicular lines. To this period also belong rugs of a distinct type,
in which the field represents a blending of pictorial and symbolic
ideas, as, for instance, a homeward flight of swallows; or a grove where
butterflies flit among the leaves, and deer with sacred fungus,
emblematic of longevity, wander.
The employment of border stripes of uniform colour was still continued,
but there was a tendency to employ more elaborate designs in many of the
figured stripes. It is not unusual to see single or double vines with
conventionalised flowers; and though the drawing is mechanical, the
relationship to Persian art is apparent. Yet in most of these pieces the
swastika-fret is used. A noticeable difference also exists in the colour
scheme of many of the late Kang-hi rugs, which frequently display
brighter colours. Much of the yellow, for instance, contains more red,
giving it a golden hue known as the “imperial yellow.”
YUNG-CHING.—During the short reign of Yung-ching (1722-1736), though
many of the old patterns were followed, the tendency to adopt more
ornate forms begun during the first part of the XVIII Century continued.
Manchurian ideas were now a strong factor in Chinese art, so that the
use of colours and ornamentation followed broader lines. To this period
are assigned most of those rugs in which designs are defined by lines of
contrasting colour that has been so treated that the lines are depressed
and throw the designs into bold relief. It is very difficult, however,
to definitely determine that any particular rug belongs to this period;
since the transition in colour scheme and patterns was gradual; and the
effect of time on dyes, one of the most reliable factors in determining
age, depends somewhat on their exposure to the elements and to use. But
broadly speaking, figures of leaf and flower were more frequently
adopted than in preceding periods and designs became less
conventionalised and more artistic. Lemon and citron shades of yellow,
also, became more prominent during this period.
KEEN-LUNG.—The long reign of Keen-lung, lasting from 1736 to 1795, was
one of the most prolific for Chinese art. To this period may safely be
assigned most of the existing rugs made before the XIX Century, as well
as many of the finest porcelains. The rugs partake of a more
cosmopolitan character than those which had preceded; for not only are
many of the designs and colours strictly Chinese, but others are of a
Persian character, and others still suggest Mohammedan influences
observable in the products of Turkestan and India. Moreover, many of the
designs show a delicate shading that is not observable in the rugs made
during the early part of the century. As a whole they are the most
ornate of Chinese rugs. Woven after the inspiration of Persian
masterpieces had left its strongest impress on Chinese weavers, and
decoration in kindred arts had assumed a luxurious style, they represent
in the drawing of leaf and flower, of birds, butterflies, and emblems of
early philosophy and faith, and in the colours that blend with rare
harmony, the most elaborate and voluptuous expression of native
craftsmanship.
In the best examples the geometric, and many of the stiff conventional
forms which continued through the XVII and the early part of the XVIII
Century, disappeared. In their place was a greater refinement of design,
a greater accuracy of drawing, which found expression in floral forms
that reached their highest development at this time and became
characteristic of it. Occasionally they are represented in profile as is
usually the practice in Western Asia, but more often are represented as
viewed from above. Some of them, as chrysanthemums, peonies,
sunflowers, and orchids, are most dainty and naturalistic. The fields of
many of these pieces are covered with such flowers carefully arranged in
harmonious groupings of leaf, bud and flower, but never with the formal
and exact balance of old Persian carpets. Not infrequently mingled with
them in the same piece are more conventional designs that belong to an
earlier period; sometimes there is a single central medallion; and
occasionally there are a large number of them. As a rule these
medallions are entirely floral, and in rugs made during the latter part
of this period they display elaborate ornamentation that distinguishes
them from earlier ones; but now and then they contain fabulous
creatures, as the lion-dogs, by which in a few instances they are
entirely replaced.
[Illustration: _COLOUR PLATE X—CHINESE RUG_
_Perfect technique of weaving, accuracy of drawing, and subdued rich
colouring are the characteristics of this unusual piece. The knots of
the fine woollen yarn are tied with a precision not frequently seen in
Chinese rugs, and the shortness of nap discloses the faithfulness with
which an artist of no ordinary ability has represented plants and
flowers. Their soft tones stand out in relief against a background now
darkened and enriched by the mellowing influence of time. Moreover, the
motives of the upper and the lower half of the field, even to the
minutest detail, show an exact balance. Many old Chinese rugs are of
uncertain age, but this piece has been attributed, not without reason,
to the Kang-hi period._
_Loaned by Mr. Nathan Bentz_]
There are also many other well-known types of Keen-lung rugs.
Surrounding the central medallion of some pieces are grouped the Taoist
symbols; emblems of the literati, as chess boards, scrolls, and the
lyre; as well as tripods, flower vases, fans of state, fruits of
abundance, emblems of honours, and symbols of longevity and happiness.
To this class also belong many of the pieces which have neither
medallions nor corner pieces, but have fields completely covered with a
pattern of continuous foliate stems and conventional flowers, repeated
with exact precision of drawing. Likewise, in a few pieces the field is
completely covered with an all-over pattern of small hexagonal or other
geometric figures containing a conventionalised flower, strongly
suggesting Turkoman influences. Some of the “Grain of Rice” rugs, also,
were woven during this period.
The borders are as distinctive as the fields. Only in a few pieces is
the swastika meander seen, but in its place is often the T pattern. The
key patterns represented in Plate N, Figs. 7 and 8 (opp. Page 274), as
well as the dotted line (Fig. 22), are also largely employed. Almost all
of these rugs have two ornamented stripes, and occasionally three, to
which is added an outer margin of plain colour. In a few pieces both
stripes are geometric; but generally one is floral and one geometric, in
which case the wider, that, with very few exceptions, is the floral, is
the inner one. Very rarely the border contains two floral stripes; and
now and then Buddhist emblems and other devices are introduced.
The breadth of artistic conception expressed in designs is accompanied
by a wider scope of colour, in the use of which these rugs may
conveniently be grouped in three sub-classes. The first is the Blue and
White, with ground of ivory or ashy white and designs that have shades
of light or dark blue. The second comprises those in which the ground is
some shade of yellow. Sometimes it has a tinge of lemon, orange, or
apricot. Again it is what is known as dull, golden, mandarin, or
imperial yellow. The overlying designs may contain a different shade of
yellow from that of the field, an ivory white, a blue, or a red. The
third subclass comprises those in which the ground colour is some shade
of red; such as persimmon, terra cotta, crushed strawberry, apricot red,
or a deep salmon pink, which is rare. The overlying designs may be a
shade of blue, ivory white, yellow, gray, and even green. Colours of
both field and border are sometimes the same but are more frequently
complementary. As a whole, the elaborate designs, delicate shading, and
rich colours rank these rugs among the most beautiful products of the
Chinese loom.
The rugs woven during the reigns of Kea-king (1796-1820) and Tao-Kwang
(1821-1850), extending to the middle of last century, repeat with slight
modification the patterns of the preceding period, though there is a
tendency to use larger and coarser designs. The colours, too, are
similar, yet they lack the deep richness that is matured only with the
lapse of great time. Many of these rugs, as well as some woven still
later, before the introduction of aniline dyes and factory processes,
are beautiful; but as a rule the modern pieces lack the refinement of
technique observable only in those produced before the beginning of the
XIX Century.
MEDALLIONS
The study of medallions which occur in fields of Chinese rugs is not
only interesting but is an important aid in determining their age; yet
it should be remembered that approved patterns were often repeated even
after the introduction of more elaborate styles. Many of the oldest
medallions were copied from bronzes or mirror backs, and their drawing
is geometric except as embellished by some conventionalised figures of
the dragon. By a process of evolution these figures, in turn, were
converted into scrolls, which in time were replaced by elaborate leaf
and flower patterns.
In Plate M, Fig. 1 (opp. Page 272), is a “Shou” design of octagonal
shape, copied from an old rug which was probably woven during the early
part of the XVII Century.
[Illustration: PLATE M. MEDALLIONS IN CHINESE RUGS]
Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of Plate M, represent fret-covered medallions, which
also are found in rugs of the same period. The first is probably the
oldest pattern; and the last, to judge by the panel surrounding it, was
apparently copied from a bronze mirror back.
In Plate M, Fig. 5, is a copy of a medallion similar to the one shown in
Plate M, Fig. 2, but with the dragons replaced by frets.
A medallion of greater interest is illustrated in Plate M, Fig. 6. It
shows the evolution of scrolls from dragons, of which the heads alone
betray their origin. Such medallions are found mostly in the earliest
rugs.
By comparing Fig. 7 of Plate M with the preceding, it is apparent that
its scrolls had a similar origin, but in this one the dragon heads have
entirely disappeared. The design is characteristic of the early Kang-hi
rugs.
In Plate M, Fig. 8, is represented a medallion that closely resembles
some of the earliest period; but the more accurate drawing and clearer
definition of lines shows that it is a later copy. It is found in late
Kang-hi pieces.
To this period, also, belongs the geometric pattern with swastikas
represented in Plate M, Fig. 9.
Another medallion with frets and dragon heads is shown in Plate M, Fig.
10. The particular rug from which it was copied was probably woven about
the Yung-ching period; but there is little doubt that similar medallions
appeared in older rugs.
In Figs. 11 and 12 of Plate M, are represented two medallions with
foliate designs that were largely employed in the early Keen-lung
period. A comparison of the first with Fig. 13 of Plate M, shows an
interesting step in the evolution of the Chinese drawing.
A very different medallion pattern of the same age is shown in Plate M,
Fig. 14, in which an encircling border consists of cloud-bands.
Also during the Keen-lung time first appeared medallions with accurately
drawn flower designs. One of this period is shown in Plate M, Fig. 15.
Wreath-like borders, such as are seen in this and the preceding one, are
found in XVIII and XIX Century pieces.
CHINESE BORDER STRIPES
The knowledge that certain border stripes antedate others in definite
sequence of time, is another aid in determining the age of Chinese
rugs. As was seen to be the case with medallions, the earliest stripes
were purely geometric. In others, still very old, appeared forms of
conventionalised dragons, which again were replaced by simple scrolls
and these by ornate floral forms. But it should be remembered that
earlier designs were often copied in later rugs, so that the evidence of
age is merely contributory.
Stripes containing the swastika meander were used almost exclusively in
the oldest rugs. Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of Plate N (opp. Page 274), represent
three old forms, which rarely appear in any pieces woven since the
Kang-hi time. The pattern of Plate N, Fig. 4, in which alternate
swastikas are reversed, is also very old.
The usual drawing of the swastika stripe is shown in Plate N, Fig. 5. It
is found largely in Kang-hi rugs, and if used in more recent fabrics, is
often accompanied by a stripe with some other pattern. As illustrated
here, the facing of the swastika is reversed in the middle of the
stripe.
The shading of Plate N, Fig. 6, which is somewhat similar to Plate N,
Fig. 4, is characteristic of the Keen-lung and subsequent periods.
In Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10, of Plate N, are Key and T patterns, which are
found in rugs of the Kang-hi and subsequent periods, but rarely in
earlier pieces. When employed in rugs woven later than the middle of the
XVIII Century they are often shaded. These meander and key-patterns are
of great antiquity; and though the drawing is exceedingly simple, it is
supposed that the figures from which they were derived once symbolised
clouds and thunder.
A very interesting stripe derived from dragons is illustrated in Plate
N, Fig. 11. The rectangular frets represent bodies of which
conventionalised heads alone betray their origin. The graceful scroll in
the middle was also probably derived from dragon forms. This stripe is
seen in old Kang-hi rugs.
The rectangular frets and floral forms are combined in an unusual stripe
(Plate N, Fig. 12) that appeared in rugs which were probably woven about
the Yung-ching period. It shows the influence of older traditions on
which are ingrafted the later inspiration.
Still more interesting is a stripe (Plate N, Fig. 13) seen in what are
known as Buddhist rugs of the Keen-lung period. In different parts of
the border appear the Buddhist emblems, the Joo-e, conch, wheel of law,
and knot of destiny, separated by cloud-bands and foliate and floral
motives.
[Illustration: PLATE N. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY BORDER-STRIPES OF CHINESE
RUGS]
The tendency to use more ornate forms in the Keen-lung and later rugs is
shown in Plate N, Figs. 14, 15, and 16, which illustrate three stripes
that with slight modifications are found in large numbers of Chinese
rugs of the last half of the XVIII and the XIX Centuries.
The stripe illustrated in Plate N, Fig. 17, on which are represented
halves of octagonal discs containing conventional flower forms, is found
in some rugs woven as early as the first part of the XVIII Century, as
well as in more subsequent pieces. The central fields of some rugs in
which it is found have geometric Ming patterns, and others have floral
conceits that suggest Persian influences.
In Figs. 18, 19, 20, and 21, of Plate N, are represented simple stripes
found in XVIII Century rugs. The last of these, which is found in
Keen-lung porcelain, shows a marked resemblance to the reciprocal
trefoil so common in Persian pieces.
The simple dotted stripe (Plate N, Fig. 22) was rarely employed before
the middle of the XVIII Century, but has been constantly used since
then.