Michael Franses
(abridged)
Carpets have been made from at least as
early as the fourth century BCE and are still produced today in a region
stretching from Spain to Japan. Yet of all the carpets in the world, the
classical Ningxia weavings from western China remain amongst the least well
known. One reason for this is that so few surviving examples can be attributed
with any real certainty to before around 1700, when the art reached its
peak. The vast majority are from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
when the art was effectively dead but the craft and production of Chinese
carpets were at their high points. As we become more
familiar with them, the classical Chinese carpets made between around 1550
and 1735 will show themselves to be masterpieces of both art and technique.
The great skill of their weavers allowed them to create the most complex
curvilinear designs as well as simple geometric forms, with perfect balance
and symmetry. These people were amongst the most highly skilled, sophisticated
and sensitive weavers, craftsmen and artists in the history of carpet making.
We know today of less than five hundred
classical Chinese carpets surviving in western collections that can be attributed
to the high period of the art, 1550 to 1735. Few appear to survive today
in China, as most were exported a century ago when China sold off much of
the artistic heritage it retained in this form. Classical Chinese carpets
can be divided chronologically into a number of groups: carpets from the
fifteenth century and earlier; Ming dynasty examples from the first half
of the sixteenth century; Ming dynasty Imperial Palace carpets from the
second half of the sixteenth century; Imperial Palace and other Ming period
carpets from the first half of the seventeenth century; Qing dynasty carpets
from the second half of the seventeenth century; Qing carpets from the first
half of the eighteenth century. Examples from the latter group demonstrate
the beginning of the decline in the art, and help to place the true classical
examples in context.The classical Chinese carpets of Ningxia represent the
fusion of two different traditions, both of which may once have stemmed
from a common heritage: the symbols of the ancient tribal peoples of Asia,
for whom the carpet was a prime medium of artistic expression; and the repertoire
of Chinese ornaments from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Unfortunately, nothing was written contemporaneously
about the history of the Chinese carpet. Our knowledge, sparse as it is,
has been drawn from the close study and comparison of the few surviving
examples. During the past century, few people in Europe and America have
understood the original functions and importance of oriental rugs, which
have mostly been acquired merely as luxurious floor coverings. When we look
at an oriental rug today, we can only superficially grasp its full importance
and significance the older examples represent a lost language illustrating
the traditions, beliefs and fears of forgotten cultures. The classical Chinese
carpets that survive are recognised, collected and admired by a relatively
small group of people, and apart from these few true experts, connoisseurship
seems to be lacking in this very tiny corner of Chinese art history. Hopefully,
through this book and the publication of a small selection from some of
the most beautiful Chinese carpets, a wider audience will begin to be able
to appreciate their merits as important works of art.
