A SMALL NINGXIA RUG, QINGChina, 19th century. Finely woven wool rug with a palace still life showing books, scrolls, a bronze censer, vases with various flowers, a brush pot and a scholar’s rock, all set on and around a square Kang table.Provenance: From a polish private collection, where it has been since ca. 1940.Condition: Excellent condition with wear and soiling as expected on an original rug from this period.Dimensions: 137 x 67 cm.In the diary of a Jesuit priest, Father Gerbillon, it is recorded that the Kangxi Emperor visited Ningxia in 1697 and was presented with several locally made carpets which he took back with him to the Empress. With Imperial interest in the Ningxia carpets and their designs being closely related to court styles of the Ming period, their appeal increased throughout the 18th and 19th century. Ancestor portraits are significant in contributing dates to styles of carpets. In these portraits, the carpets are often visible at the edges of the thrones. The Chinese production of wool carpets and rugs spanned over several centuries and they do not appear to have been exported to Europe in the first quarter of the eighteenth century which was the height of the Chinoiserie fashion. It was only at the beginning of the twentieth century that the West became aware of Chinese carpets, largely through the dealers at the time which included Larkin & Kemp in London, and Yamanaka, Tiffany, Dilley and others in New York. Their interest to the present market is their understated elegance and balanced composition with their reduced and subtle range of colors.清寧夏小挂毯中國,十九世紀。羊毛制宮廷博古紋靜物挂毯。來源:波蘭私人收藏,1940年前後建立。品相:品相極好,磨損,如預期來自這個年代的使用痕跡相符。尺寸:137 x 67 厘米