Detailed Product Description

Rugs of China are considered to include those ofManchuria , Mongolia and Xinjiang. Rugs were primarily woven innorthern China . A few pile rugs have been dated to the eighteenthcentury. Domestic pile rug production in China was quite small untilproduction for export began in about 1890. Rug-weaving centrespredating rug production for export include Ningxia, Baotou , Suiyuanand the towns of Gansu .

Commercial rug production for export began late in the nineteenthcentury in Beijing and about the turn of the century in Tianjan.Tianjan became the centre of large-scale commercial production fromabout 1910 to 1930 as foreign firms came to dominate the Chinese rugindustry. American firms in China included Karagheusin, A Beshar &Co., Donchian, Avanosian, Kent-Costikyan, Elbrook Inc., Nichols SuperYarn and Fette-Li. Throughout the early twentieth century, the UnitedStates was the largest importer of Chinese rugs. The peak period of rugproduction and shipment to the United States was 1925. In the early1930s, rug production was interrupted by the Japanese invasion.Large-scale commercial production was not resumed until the 1960s.

Chinese rugs use the asymmetric knot with occasional use of thesymmetric knot in edges and ends of early examples. Chinese rugs arenot finely knotted, varying between 30 and 120 per square inch. Someearly Chinese rugs have asymmetric knots that are offset on warps orskip warps at curving borders of colour changes. Early rugs have nowarp offset, while later rugs have offset warps, some with closedbacks.