Live Auction 17837Lacquer, Jade, Bronze, Ink: The Irving Collection Day Sale
A NINGXIA CARPET
Lot 1306 THE FLORENCE AND HERBERT IRVING COLLECTION

A NINGXIA CARPET

NORTHWEST CHINA, QING DYNASTY, 18TH/19TH CENTURY

Closed21 March 2019

Price Realised

USD 75,000

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A NINGXIA CARPET
NORTHWEST CHINA, QING DYNASTY, 18TH/19TH CENTURY
Having polychrome bats on the rose and salmon wan-fret field within solid maize and dark brown borders
Approximately 10 ft. 8 in. x 6 ft. 7 in. (325 cm. x 201 cm.)

Alice Boney, New York, 8 November 1982.
The Irving Collection, no. 827.

Specialist note

Bat imagery is associated with auspiciousness in Chinese art dating back to the Han dynasty. The pronunciation of “bat” in Chinese is “fú”, the same as that of “blessing”, but there is also a poetic reference to their quick and fleeting appearance at dusk. Bats are also a symbol of longevity because of their habit of hanging upside down and staying motionless.

For a very similar rug with bats on a wan-fret field, please see Glanz der Himmelssöhne: Kaiserliche Teppiche aus China 1400-1750, London, 2005, pl. 44, p. 130.