Peking rug

A lovely rendering of a theme occasionally seen in these rugs, probably attributable to Ningxia in northern China, a horse culture located outside the Great Wall. The different postures of the horses is a charming feature, as one of them even faces the viewer, while the adjacent horse looks completely away, obscuring his face while another grazes peacefully and another playfully rolls on his back in the grass. The realism of the running horses is quite unusual too, with a fully articulated view of the animal in motion complete with a flowing tail trailing behind. The corner fret work adds an unusual visual appeal to the composition, with lightning bolt type patterning coupled with squares of alternating colors including dark and lighter indigo blue and cream colored wool possibly representing water? Most rugs of the design type are more sedate, and not nearly as visually active as this example.