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Antique Samarkand Khotan Rugs Collection
Collectively called Samarkand rugs, woven carpets made by people living in East Turkestan oasis towns such as Khotan, Yarkand and Kashgar are long, somewhat narrow, exotic creations offering minimalistic designs realized with glossy wool, metallic threads and brocaded silk. For many centuries, traders and merchants from Western Europe and China traveled the deserts, rainless steppes and vast mountain ranges surrounding these towns, bringing an amalgamation of Oriental styles and motifs to Samarkand rugs. In particular, Khotan rugs were handwoven in the old city of Khotan located in the Chinese Turkistan (Autonomous Region of Xinjiange).
Combining Central Asian designs with vivid coloring and Chinese images, Khotan rugs include influences from earlier Persian rugs but often exhibit non-Persian images such as lattice designs overlaid with rosette clusters. Woolen Khotan rugs also offer remarkable medallion schemes featuring multiple medallions, blue on red schemes, delicate pomegranate vines trailing out of tiny vases and tiled patterns brightened by chrysanthemum blooms. All Khotan rugs show stylistic modifications occurring as the kingdom of Khotan transitioned frequently from one dynasty to another.
Learn More About Khotan Carpets | Khotan Rugs Guide
- Inclusion of coppery red, rust red or rich red hues reveal Persian influences
- Striking, multicolored stripes incorporated in border decorations are indicative of Chinese influences
- Disc shapes seen in Khotan rugs emerged from Buddhist culture while centralized medallions are taken from Tibetan art motifs
- Khotan rugs incorporating diamond shapes and flowers have taken these images from India and Hindu culture
- Color dyes used on Khotan rug materials (wool, cotton, silk) were derived from local plants or sometimes imported from Kashmir
- Pomegranate symbols, typically depicted as a stylized shrub presenting symmetrically spreading branches and exquisitely imagined fruits, are an important regional symbol seen in many Khotan rugs
- Purer Khotan rugs present elegant blue motifs and soothing warm beiges
Coveted by rug collectors and high-end interior decorators, Khotan rugs (known as “Hotan” today) provide a fabulously versatile, decorative appeal seamlessly blending with any type of décor. When you need the perfect rug to enhance a sophisticated, contemporary, distressed or eclectic setting, you can easily purchase new, vintage, and antique Khotan rugs online using Esmaili Rugs & Antiques website form.
One of the country’s most respected antique and vintage rug businesses, Esmaili’s Rugs & Antiques is proud to offer a Khotan rug collection unrivaled by other similar rug collections. If you would like to learn more about the history of Khotan rugs, our knowledgeable historians would be more than happy to chat with you. Call us today at (214) 651-7847.
