Page 117 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc

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AN IMPERIAL SILK AND METAL
THREAD RUG
QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY

of rectangular form, nely woven with an overall
eld of quadrangular lattice design with oral

medallion repeats, enclosed by a trellis pattern
set with formalized orets, all bordered by a band
of wan-fret scrolls, inscribed to the top with a

ve-character inscription reading Qianqinggong
yuyong (for the imperial use in the Palace of
Heavenly Purity)
Length 85 in., 215.9 cm; Width 49¾ in., 126.5 cm

The inscription on the present rug reads
Qianqinggong yuyong which can be translated as
‘For the imperial use in the Palace of Heavenly
Purity’. Located at the northern end of the
Forbidden City, the Qianqing Gong was one of
the three main palaces in the inner court. During
the Ming dynasty, it served as the emperors’
living quarters, but during the Qing dynasty the
emperors used it as an audience hall for meetings
with the Grand Council, receiving foreign envoys,
and holding banquets.

A similar example, bearing the same inscription
as the present lot, was sold in our London rooms,
12th July 2006, lot 114, and another, decorated
with dragons and inscribed with Qianqinggong
beiyong (reserved for imperial use in the Palace
of Heavenly Purity), was sold in these rooms,
16th-17th September 2014, lot 208. See also a
third example, decorated with similar patterns,
but inscribed with Taihedian yuyong (for imperial
use in the Great Hall of Supreme Harmony),
sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 31st May 2010, lot
1930. For an earlier example with similar design,
see a Ming dynasty rug in the Palace Museum
collection, Beijing, illustrated in Classics of the
Forbidden City. Carpets in the Collection of the
Palace Museum, Beijing, 2010, p. 32.

$ 20,000-30,000

IMPORTANT CHINESE ART 115