A Silk Yarkhand Carpet, East Turkestan, circa 1880

Davide Halevim Collection
Christie's London, February 2001, lot 41

Halevim, Davide, Oasi. Memorie e Fascino del Turkestan Orientale, Milan, 1999 
Hali 116, May-June 2001, p. 160

The highly unusual pistachio green silk ground of this Yarkhand carpet is it’s defining feature: abrashed between pale yellow green and pale blue green, the shimmering silk combines with these subtle colour changes to give an iridescent quality to the field.  Overlaid is a ruby red cloud-collar trellis work first found in early Chinese carpets, for example that illustrated by Dimand, M.S. and Mailey, Jean, Oriental Rugs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1973, no. 199, p. 338 and fig. 268 pp. 164-5. A comparable East Turkestan wool carpet can be seen in Herrmann, Eberhart, Seltene Orientteppiche IV, Munich, 1982, no.98, pp.258-9. The field is complimented by the pastel coloured stripe and cloud scroll border, also of Chinese inspiration.