Henry’s Auktionshaus will be offering a selection of 416 lots at their special winter auction, 'Collector Carpets' on 8 December 2018. The sale features a fine selection of rare Tibetan rugs from a private German collection and decorative carpets from a private Australian collection. Highlights include a spectacular collection of Chinese rugs, a small selection of imperial silk and metal-thread rugs and Persian town rugs from famous master workshops. Furthermore, exemplary Anatolian 'Transylvanian' rugs, and many collectible Caucasian carpets and early Turkmen rugs from private collections will be auctioned.
Lot 7133, Imperial Chinese silk and gold metal-thread Ningxia Dragon 'Temple-Carpet' (detail), Qing Dynasty, West China, 19th century. 2.80 x 1.88 m. Henry's Auktionshaus, 8 December 2018, estimate €21-35,000
Among the Chinese rugs is a signed silk and gold metal-thread Ningxia dragon temple-carpet (lot 7133). Five clawed dragons hunt a flaming-pearl against a gold-metal brocaded ground within a multicoloured water-wave border. The cartouche inscription indicates the piece was made for imperial use in the temple of heaven (one of the most important temples in Beijing located near the forbidden city in the former district of Chongwen), making it one of only a few extant known textiles affiliated with this temple.
Lot 7124, Early Imperial fine silk and metal-thread Kesi tapestry (detail), Northeast China, 17th/18th-century. 1.90 x 0.95 m. Henry's Auktionshaus, 8 December 2018, estimate €2,200-7,500
Henry's small selection of imperial silk and metal-thread rugs boasts an early imperial silk and metal-thread Kesi tapestry, dated to the late 17th-18th century, 'probably made for the forbidden city in Beijing' (lot 7124). The Chinese ‘peach-festival’ is depicted, a popular Daoist theme associated with the birthday celebration of Xiwangmu. The faces of the people have been painted by a master, each with individual expressions.
