CHINESE RUGS
VERY EARLY CHINESE RUG
Monograph Number Six in The Mentor Reading Course
Length, nine feet nine inches.
Width, six feet six inches.
Sixteen hand-tied knots to the square inch, double yarns.
It should be, and probably will be, unnecessary to write any words of praise for the wonderful old carpet so well reproduced in this plate. It has all the marks of great and genuine antiquity. It represents the Chinese rug-weaving art at its best, so far as clear concept, perfect simplicity, and balance go, and the marvelous color which distinguishes the highest expression. When this piece came to America, together with the temple carpet shown in [Plate V], it was in a sorry state of disrepair, although but little of the original web was missing. The work of reparation occupied a very considerable period of time, but resulted in bringing back to life and utility one of the most perfect examples of early weaving that have ever been imported.