Antique Khotan Silk Carpet, last quarter 19th century - A classic array of East Turkestan openwork medallions float across the open field of this spectacular all silk antique Khotan. A more solid central medallion anchors the composition, balanced by the delicate little cornerpieces. The inner and outer borders too are classic Khotan, although the central one is an Ersari pattern from Western Turkestan. The saturated color is incomparably beautiful, and its effect is greatly heightened by the lustrous silk pile. The drawing of the rug is archaic, more animated and freely articulated than Khotans of the later nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries. A relatively early date within the first half of the nineteenth century therefore seems likely.