Galerie Shabab Central Asian Rugs

An antique East Turkestan Khotan accent rug handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 4' 9" x 8' 11"

A modern East Turkestan Khotan room size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 9' 5" x 11' 8".

A contemporary East Turkestan Khotan room Size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 8' 11" x 12' 0".

A contemporary East Turkestan Khotan room Size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 9' 10" x 13' 1".

A vintage East Turkestan Khotan throw rug handmade during the Mid-20th Century. Measures: 2' 7" x 3' 10".

A contemporary East Turkestan Khotan room size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 8' 9" x 11' 9".

An antique East Turkestan pictorial vase Khotan rug handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 4' 9" x 8' 7".

A vintage Persian Malayer accent rug handmade during the Mid-20th Century inspired by Central Asian tribal Turkoman carpets. Measures: 4' 7" x 6' 4".

A contemporary Tibetan Art Deco style small room size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 7' 0" x 10' 11"

A vintage European accent rug in square format handmade during the mid-20th century and in the style of tribal Central Asian Turkoman rugs. Measures: 7' 2" x 8' 0".

An antique Central Asian Beshir large room size tribal rug handmade during the early 20th century in neutral earth tones throughout. Measures: 11' 1" x 15' 7".

A modern East Turkestan Khotan room size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 8' 2" x 10' 0".

A contemporary East Turkestan Khotan large room size carpet handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 12' 2" x 17' 10".

A contemporary Turkish room size carpet, in the Khotan style originating in East Turkestan, handmade during the 21st century. Measures: 9' 11" x 14' 5".

A vintage Central Asian tribal Turkoman room size carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 9' 10" x 12' 4".

An antique East Turkestan Khotan room size carpet handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 9' 6" x 14' 2".

A vintage East Turkestan Khotan gallery carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 6' 8" x 12' 6".

An antique East Turkestan Khotan gallery carpet handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 6' 8" x 13' 1".

An antique Caucasian Kazak throw rug handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 2' 7" x 4' 7".

A vintage Caucasian Karabagh gallery rug with a pictorial design of 4 lions handmade during the mid-20th century. Measure: 4' 11" x 11' 2".

A vintage tribal Central Asian Turkoman accent rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 4' 4" x 5' 11".

A vintage East Turkestan Khotan room size carpet handmade during the late 20th century. This Khotan is in the distressed style, but otherwise in good condition. Measures: 7' 10" x...

An antique Mongolian room size carpet handmade during the early 20th century with a contemporary Art Deco style geometric pattern in neutral colors. Measures: 9' 2" x 11' 1" The craft of the hand-knotted carpet in China, and the surrounding areas including Mongolia and Tibet, extends into the early centuries of the first millennium, C.E., but we really have a firm grasp only beginning in the later 16th century with large, very coarsely woven carpets, often depicting dragons, created for the Imperial Forbidden City palaces. Chinese carpets have always been commercial and there are no tribal groups responsible for any of the carpet weaving strains. When the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644, with no Imperial patrons, production moved to the city of Ningxia in north central China where several workshops turned out more finely woven pieces for the Mandarins of the administrative Ch’ing bureaucracy and well-to-do merchants. Ningxia was the major Chinese carpet center up through most of the 19th century, with first allover and then medallion designs on cotton foundations in medium weaves. Palettes were initially limited to yellows, dark blue and cream, but later widened to include reds, browns and even green. These antiques were the first Chinese carpets to be exported to the West and they fitted in well with the craze for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain in the second half of the 19th century. Ningxia also wove shaped and rectangular small rugs for saddle underlays, chair (“throne”) seats and shaped backs, pillar carpets with dragons or monks for Buddhist monasteries, and long divided runners for monastery meditation halls. These small rugs are among the most collectible of all Chinese weavings. Weavers from Ningxia set up workshops in the capital Peking (Beijing) in the 1860’s and began weaving Western room sizes for export, primarily to America. In blue – and – white and polychrome palettes, with round wreath medallions, precious objects, seasonal flowers, paeonies, lotuses, fretwork, clouds, butterflies and bats, all relatively spaciously drawn. The round “Shou” (Good Luck) character is also a prominent decorative motif. There are also a few Peking landscape pictorials with pagodas, houses, bridges, waterscapes and boats. Peking carpets were woven right up until WWII and production began again after the Cultural Revolution around 1970. They are moderately well-woven, on cotton foundations, exactingly executed and indisputably Chinese. Many are in the blue-and-white style. Nothing else looks like a Peking carpet and for a Chinese “look” in a room, they are absolutely indispensable. Sizes range from scatters and a few runners, through the popular 9’12’ size, to large carpets over 20’ which must have been special orders. The earliest Peking Revival carpets are pliable and fairly thin, but they became heavier and more compact in the 20th century, in competition with Art Deco carpets from Tientsin. The modern, post- 1970, pieces are in the traditional Peking style, but are a little too regular and neat. Exactitude has been favored over character, as hard to explain that as it is. There are a number of all-silk and silk-and –metal thread pieces, many with inscriptions purporting to link them with rooms in the Imperial palaces, bringing very substantial auction prices, but none are really antique. The genre emerged after WWI and the present demand comes from mainland Chinese. The silk piles often stand in pattern relief against flat woven gold metal thread grounds. The inscriptions are apocryphal, the rugs are flashily opulent, perfect for nouveaux riches. The Art Deco period between the two World Wars saw a distinctive carpet industry developing in Tientsin (Tianjin) in northeastern China. These are highly prized for their transitional design character, neither overtly Chinese, nor abstractly modern/contemporary. Woven exclusively for export, usually by and for American firms, such as Nichols and Elbrook, they are totally in the “Jazz Age Modern” style of the 1920’s, often without borders, with abstract or abstracted patterns, and only with, at best, a few Chinese-y pattern elements. Vases asymmetrically placed in the corners are features of some of the more Chinese-y carpets. Open fields with floral sprays and branches growing in from the edges are anther design innovation. Often, Chinese motives have been re-imagined in more sharp-edged, abstract manners. Some have no references whatsoever to natural elements. The patterns are sharp and the rugs are never subdued, soft or restrained. The rugs are heavily constructed, with crisp, unfading dyes and medium to medium coarse weaves on cotton foundations. All are extremely well-executed, with none of the vagaries, variations or twists found on even high-quality Persian rugs. The majority are in the 9’ by 12’ format and a surprising number can be found in top condition. There also was a substantial production in Peking from, especially from the Fette factory. Elliptical and round carpets, and lighter, often pastel colors, were a specialty. Nothing looks like an Art Deco Chinese and they work well with traditional Chinese furniture and the most modern decor as well. These is no substitute for a good Chinese Art Deco carpet. Chinese carpets also include small scatters from Tibet, with high quality wool, floating dragons and allover textile patterns. The colors of vintage and modern pieces are bright, but there are antique small rugs (sleeping rugs) with simple chessboard allovers. Only a few large antique Tibetan carpets...

An antique central Asian Turkoman carpet from the early 20th century. Measures: 6' 5" x 9' 11"

An antique Central Asian Tekke rug. From the most important Turkmen weaving tribe in Turkmenistan, this blood red nomadic rug displays five columns of ele...

A vintage Persian Baluch accent rug handmade during the mid-20th century with cotton highlights. Measures: 5' 3" x 9' 0".

A vintage Caucasian flatweave Verneh throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 8" x 5' 6".

An antique East Turkestan Khotan accent rug in square format handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 7' 0" x 8' 7".

A vintage Central Asian Turkoman small throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 2' 0" x 2' 9".

A vintage Persian Baluch throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 5" x 6' 0" Persian rugs & carpets: Persia (Iran) is a moderately large country with a ver...

An antique East Turkestan Saph Khotan rug in runner format handmade during the early 20th century. Measures: 2' 2" x 9' 3" Central Asian Rugs & Carpets: Central Asia is a vast area stretching from Northeastern Persia to western China, and from northern Afghanistan to the southern edge of Russia. The carpets can be usefully divided into three groups: the nomadic Turkmen rugs of Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, and northeastern Persia; the non-Turkmen tribal pieces from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kirghizstan; and the urban creations of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar, oasis cities of Western China (Xinjiang Province). Commercially, the most important group is from Khotan, the easternmost of the Chinese Turkestan cities. The craft of rug weaving is primarily in the hands of Muslim Uighurs. Khotan carpets mix purely Central Asian design themes with Chinese elements. Native Khotan devices include pomegranate trees, upright flowers, round medallions, and yellow or red grounds. Chinese motives include triangular fretwork corners, swastika fretwork, and Yun-Tsao Tou (clouds and rain) diagonally striped polychrome borders. Cotton foundations, asymmetrical (Persian) knots, and medium weaves are standard. Some vintage Khotan are in horizontal, pictorial layouts with multiple various vases and plants. Saphs (multiple prayer niche panel carpets) are also a Khotan specialty. Others employ stepped and layered lozenge medallions, singly or in pairs. Still others, almost all antique, feature a stylized version of the allover Persian Herati design. Many of the oldest pieces employ brown wool wefts. Antique and vintage Khotans are almost always in the k’ang (double square) layout, conforming to the local household plans. Only relatively recently has the 6’ by 12’ or 7’ by 16’ format been replaced by the 9’ by 12’ size. As a result, an antique room size Khotan carpet is very uncommon. Reds are cinnamon, tomato and rust, never wine reds, crimson, or scarlet. Yarkand, farther west on the old Silk Road specializes in multi-medallion long carpets while Kashgar, farthest west and most under Persian influence, has traditionally knotted allover pattern pieces with finer weaves, often with silk piles, and enriched with medal thread, on cotton foundations. Extant Kashgars go back to the 17th century, but the carpet craft in Chinese Turkestan must be much older as fragments have been recovered from local tombs of the early C.E. period. Kashgars are the rarest of all East Turkestan rugs. Most available vintage East Turkestan carpets are interwar Khotans, many with pleasingly soft decorative palettes. The non-Turkmen nomads include the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Karakalpak groups. Like the Turkmen, they were once all seasonally migratory, dwelling in round felt tents (yurts), but have been settled, at least partially, in the villages, and have taken up crafts and agriculture instead of sheep herding. As a result, carpet production has transitioned from domestic tent use to commercial sale, but the roots of long traditions are still evident. The Uzbeks weave...

An antique East Turkestan Khotan rug in runner format with a pomegranate design handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 2' 2" x 7' 6" Central Asian Rugs & Carpets: Central Asia is a vast area stretching from Northeastern Persia to western China, and from northern Afghanistan to the southern edge of Russia. The carpets can be usefully divided into three groups: the nomadic Turkmen rugs of Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, and northeastern Persia; the non-Turkmen tribal pieces from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kirghizstan; and the urban creations of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar, oasis cities of Western China (Xinjiang Province). Commercially, the most important group is from Khotan, the easternmost of the Chinese Turkestan cities. The craft of rug weaving is primarily in the hands of Muslim Uighurs. Khotan carpets mix purely Central Asian design themes with Chinese elements. Native Khotan devices include pomegranate trees, upright flowers, round medallions, and yellow or red grounds. Chinese motives include triangular fretwork corners, swastika fretwork, and Yun-Tsao Tou (clouds and rain) diagonally striped polychrome borders. Cotton foundations, asymmetrical (Persian) knots, and medium weaves are standard. Some vintage Khotan are in horizontal, pictorial layouts with multiple various vases and plants. Saphs (multiple prayer niche panel carpets) are also a Khotan specialty. Others employ stepped and layered lozenge medallions, singly or in pairs. Still others, almost all antique, feature a stylized version of the allover Persian Herati design. Many of the oldest pieces employ brown wool wefts. Antique and vintage Khotans are almost always in the k’ang (double square) layout, conforming to the local household plans. Only relatively recently has the 6’ by 12’ or 7’ by 16’ format been replaced by the 9’ by 12’ size. As a result, an antique room size Khotan carpet is very uncommon. Reds are cinnamon, tomato and rust, never wine reds, crimson, or scarlet. Yarkand, farther west on the old Silk Road specializes in multi-medallion long carpets while Kashgar, farthest west and most under Persian influence, has traditionally knotted allover pattern pieces with finer weaves, often with silk piles, and enriched with medal thread, on cotton foundations. Extant Kashgars go back to the 17th century, but the carpet craft in Chinese Turkestan must be much older as fragments have been recovered from local tombs of the early C.E. period. Kashgars are the rarest of all East Turkestan rugs. Most available vintage East Turkestan carpets are interwar Khotans, many with pleasingly soft decorative palettes. The non-Turkmen nomads include the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Karakalpak groups. Like the Turkmen, they were once all seasonally migratory, dwelling in round felt tents (yurts), but have been settled, at least partially, in the villages, and have taken up crafts and agriculture instead of sheep herding. As a result, carpet production has transitioned from domestic tent use to commercial sale, but the roots of long traditions are still evident. The Uzbeks weave...

A vintage Persian tribal Turkoman rug in runner format handmade during the mid-20th century. Although this rug is of Persian origin, the roots of Turkoman rugs originated in the Central Asian region. Measures: 1' 6" x 10' 4" Central Asian Rugs & Carpets: Central Asia is a vast area stretching from Northeastern Persia to western China, and from northern Afghanistan to the southern edge of Russia. The carpets can be usefully divided into three groups: the nomadic Turkmen rugs of Turkmenistan, northern Afghanistan, and northeastern Persia; the non-Turkmen tribal pieces from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kirghizstan; and the urban creations of Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar, oasis cities of Western China (Xinjiang Province). Commercially, the most important group is from Khotan, the easternmost of the Chinese Turkestan cities. The craft of rug weaving is primarily in the hands of Muslim Uighurs. Khotan carpets mix purely Central Asian design themes with Chinese elements. Native Khotan devices include pomegranate trees, upright flowers, round medallions, and yellow or red grounds. Chinese motives include triangular fretwork corners, swastika fretwork, and Yun-Tsao Tou (clouds and rain) diagonally striped polychrome borders. Cotton foundations, asymmetrical (Persian) knots, and medium weaves are standard. Some vintage Khotan are in horizontal, pictorial layouts with multiple various vases and plants. Saphs (multiple prayer niche panel carpets) are also a Khotan specialty. Others employ stepped and layered lozenge medallions, singly or in pairs. Still others, almost all antique, feature a stylized version of the allover Persian Herati design. Many of the oldest pieces employ brown wool wefts. Antique and vintage Khotans are almost always in the k’ang (double square) layout, conforming to the local household plans. Only relatively recently has the 6’ by 12’ or 7’ by 16’ format been replaced by the 9’ by 12’ size. As a result, an antique room size Khotan carpet is very uncommon. Reds are cinnamon, tomato and rust, never wine reds, crimson, or scarlet. Yarkand, farther west on the old Silk Road specializes in multi-medallion long carpets while Kashgar, farthest west and most under Persian influence, has traditionally knotted allover pattern pieces with finer weaves, often with silk piles, and enriched with medal thread, on cotton foundations. Extant Kashgars go back to the 17th century, but the carpet craft in Chinese Turkestan must be much older as fragments have been recovered from local tombs of the early C.E. period. Kashgars are the rarest of all East Turkestan rugs. Most available vintage East Turkestan carpets are interwar Khotans, many with pleasingly soft decorative palettes. The non-Turkmen nomads include the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uzbek, and Karakalpak groups. Like the Turkmen, they were once all seasonally migratory, dwelling in round felt tents (yurts), but have been settled, at least partially, in the villages, and have taken up crafts and agriculture instead of sheep herding. As a result, carpet production has transitioned from domestic tent use to commercial sale, but the roots of long traditions are still evident. The Uzbeks weave...

An antique Caucasian Kazak rug in runner format handmade during the early 20th century with a geometric tribal design. Measures: 3' 1" x 8' 4".

A modern Persian 12' x 14' flat-weave rug handmade during the 21st century inspired by vintage Kilim rugs woven by the nomadic groups of Persia and Central Asia with dark brown verti...

A modern Afghan Pictorial small throw rug handmade during the 21st century with a pictorial depiction of an Arab Bedouin falconer (raptor) in traditional garb holding a fan-tailed ra...

A vintage Samarkand accent rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 5' 4" x 8' 10".

An antique tribal Beshir accent rug in gallery format handmade during the early 20th century by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia. Measures: 6' 2" x 10' 10".

A modern Afghan pictorial room size rug handmade during the 21st century with a lion resting over a green field. Measures: 8'4" x 10'0".

A modern Afghan Tantra rug with a pictorial depiction of a flayed man handmade during the 21st century. Original versions were employed by Vajrayana Budd...

An antique East Turkestan Khotan rug in gallery format from the early 20th century.

A modern Persian 11' x 15' flat-weave rug handmade during the 21st century inspired by vintage Kilim rugs woven by the nomadic groups of Persia and Central Asia. The neutral beige li...

An antique East Turkestan Khotan rug from the early 20th century. Measures: 5' 4" x 8' 10"

An antique East Turkestan Khotan carpet from the first quarter of the 20th century. Measures: 4' 6" x 7' 10".

An antique East Turkestan Samarkand carpet from the first quarter of the 20th century. Antique Khotan and Samarkand rugs and carpets were produced in the oasis town of Eastern Turkes...

A vintage Central Asian Turkoman carpet from the mid-20th century. Measures: 6' 7" x 10' 10"

An antique East Turkestan Khotan accent rug handmade during the early 20th century primarily bitonal in shades of brown. The small ivory motifs add a...

An antique Central Asian Turkoman gallery rug from the early 20th century. Measures: 4' 9" x 9' 6"

A vintage Afghan Pictorial map rug from the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 0" x 4' 10"

An antique East Turkestan Khotan carpet from the turn of the 20th century. Antique Khotan rugs and carpets were produced in the oasis town of Eastern Turkestan, today part of the Xin...

A vintage Turkish Kurd Pictorial carpet from the second quarter of the 20th century.

Antique Khotan rugs and carpets were produced in the oasis town of Eastern Turkestan, today part of the Xinjiang region in Western China. This area has had a steady production of car...

An antique East Turkestan Khotan carpet from the first quarter of the 20th century.

An antique East Turkestan Khotan carpet from the second quarter of the 20th century.

An antique East Turkestan Saf (also spelled Saff or Saph) Khotan rug from the first quarter of the 20th century. The elements of this runner make for a great ecumenical context. The Mihrab design in each of the 12 niches that compose this rug makes it easy to distinguish that it is a Saff Khotan Islamic Prayer rug...

An antique East Turkestan carpet from the second quarter of the 20th century.

An antique East Turkestan Khotan carpet from the early 20th century.

An antique East Turkestan Kirghiz carpet from the turn of the 20th century.

A second quarter of the 20th century Afghan Bokhara carpet.

Antique Khotan rugs and carpets were produced in the oasis town of Eastern Turkestan, today part of the Xinjiang region in Western China. This area has had a steady production of car...