CHINE, FIN DE LA DYNASTIE QING, CIRCA 1910

The five Chinese characters within the upper, outer navy plain stripe read; ‘Wanshou shan Quanjing’, which refers to the panoramic view of the Longivity hill of the Summer Palace. The design of the present carpet is a relatively accurate depiction of the Longevity Hill, which is crowned by the Tower of Buddhist Incense atop its twenty-metre-high stone base. In the foreground one can see the Kunming Lake, a man-made construction covering over five hundred acres. To the left-hand side of the lake is the Stone Boat, rebuilt in 1860 out of marble, and in the centre, is the Seventeen-Arch Bridge leading to Nanhu Island. It is rare to find such topographical observations within a carpet design rather than the more frequently encountered configurations of dragons or overall floral or geometric designs. A carpet that depicts a counterpoised pavilion set amongst the Hanging Garden of the mythical Kunlun Mountain, is illustrated in Il Drago e il Fiore d’Oro, exhibition catalogue, Museo d’Arte Orientale, Turin, 2015, p.129.
See a very similar carpet sold in Christie's London, 27 April, 2017, lot 202.