Khotan rug

Rugs and carpets from Khotan and the neighboring oasis towns of the Tarim Basin have a unique and diverse design history. Situated between western China and Central Asia, the sedentary Muslim Turkic speaking weavers of these pieces were exposed to an array of cultural influences running along the old Silk Road. While this trade network is well known to have stretched West and East from the Middle East to China and beyond, less recognized is the importance of North South routes intersecting it. Indeed, the area that is now East Turkestan or Xinjiang was also a central stopover on the land route from India through Tibet and on into China. This regal Khotan rug draws a persianate lattice type that was widely used in Mughal India during the 17th century. Interspersed within are flowering plants and blossoms, that while stylized, retain a striking naturalism from their Indian prototypes. The border used here is equally striking with delicate geometric vegetal forms creating distinct cruciform shapes within the indigo ground negative space.