China, 1800-1880. A finely woven wool rug depicting three goats, two with upright horns and the third with elegantly curved horns, under a red sun and white clouds, one of them ruyi-shaped, all encircled by three geometric bands.Provenance: Belgian private collection. Condition: Superb condition with only minor wear and soiling as expected on an original rug from this period.Dimensions: Size 192 x 129 cmThe present lot is laden with auspicious meaning. The sheep or goat, (yang), appeared as early as the Han dynasty as a pun for xiang, meaning 'auspicious' or 'lucky'. By the Qing period, the image of sheep had become heavily associated with yang, meaning the sun, and the warm, positive or masculine force in Chinese cosmology. The sheep imagery then developed into three sheep, sanyang, as a reference to the favorable arrival of Spring, since the phrase sanyang kaitai refers to the period between the Winter solstice and the New Year. This is the period when the warm yang energy is said to emerge, as detailed in the ancient Chinese classic of cosmology, Yijing (The Book of Changes).Literature comparison: Compare with a famille rose vase from the Jiaqing period painted with the same subject at Sotheby's London in Important Chinese Art on 9 November 2016, lot 248.清代三陽開泰地毯中國,1800-1880。精細編織的羊毛地毯,描繪了三隻山羊,其中兩隻帶有直立的角,第三隻帶有優雅彎曲的角,在紅色的太陽和潔白的雲朵下,其中一朵呈如意形狀。來源:比利時私人收藏 品相:極佳的狀態,只有很小的磨損和髒污,這是該時期原始地毯所會有的。尺寸:192 x 129 厘米