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 subclasses. 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.