Peking

Most carpets woven in the Chinese capital city of Beijing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries conformed to Western tastes and blended Chinese motifs with international styles. Though still distinctly Chinese, these pieces may easily be divided into such categories as Neoclassical or Art Deco. This piece is not so easily categorized. Instead, it may be seen as a large rendering of traditional Chinese carpets woven in Ningxia a century before. Traditional potted flowers and domestic accoutrement—including even folding screens—are drawn against an open field centered with a medallion, recalling, perhaps nostalgically, an idolized village landscape complete with bridges and a pagoda.