Antique Chinese 'Pao-tu' Dragon Rug

Striking Chinese dragon rug from Pao-Tu, dating from 1910-1915, a soft wool pile and in beautiful pile all over.  No damage or restoration visible, and it has been professionally washed so the wool is extremely soft to touch and the whole rug has a very light handle.  With our expert rug underlay included in the price, it would remove any creases in this Chinese rug and keep it safe and secure on the floor. Stunning golden dragons on a deep indigo blue background with a classical T pattern border design, these are found in rugs of the Kong-hi and subsequent periods, but rarely earlier pieces. These meander patterns T shaped are of great antiquity and though the drawing is so simplistic, it is supposed that the figures from which they were derived, once symbolised thunder and clouds.

Woven in Pau-Tu the principal city of Suiyuan Province, rugs from Pao-Tu usually depict dragons.  The vast majority of Pau-tu have a dark blue background, are very open in their design layout and with a large number of pictorial motifs, such as dragons.  The weave is more often coarse, on thin cotton warps with a thick soft wool pile which is lustrous.  In China the dragon is seen as a benign creature, quite unlike the fierce monsters we encounter in Western myths.  Traditionally the Dragon is one of four supernatural creatures, powerful but merciful, and by extension symbolic of the Emperor.

Chinese rugs before the 1920's were thin and soft to handle, using cotton warps and countless pictorial motifs, including complete scenes often made in landscape format.  As well as dragons, the Phoenix   appeared which is also a symbol of felicity and compliment each other.  The crane was also popular, symbolising divine power.  In the late 1920's a new style of manufacturing started producing thick piled Chinese carpets with a heavy warp and weft and a firm ridged back.

Purchase this antique Chinese carpet online from us and we shall securely courier it to your home, with our excellent anti-slip rug underlay which is included in the price.  Or contact us to view it at our barn showroom in Crondall, Surrey.

If you are not completely satisfied with the carpet we shall of course refund you in full once the rug is returned to us.

Free Shipping throughout the UK and we use a well-respected International Shipper for Europe and Overseas, as we have shipped carpets to Hong Kong and Australia in the past.

Members of The British Antique Dealers Association (BADA) and LAPADA since 2008.  Adhering to their strict guidelines and our carpets and rugs are independently vetted at their antique and art fairs every year.

We professionally wash all our carpets and rugs, plus our expert restorer who has over 30 years experience will secure fringes and sides if necessary.

Request a home visit to view this stunning antique carpet in your own home, let us know a preferred day and time to see you.  As we have travelled all over the UK visiting customers, up to Scotland, Ireland and even France and Belgium in Europe over the last 30 years.

Farnham Antique Carpets are specialists in antique decorative carpets, rugs and runners. Varying from antique tribal rugs woven in the Caucasus to classical Persian carpets dating from the mid 19th century to the early 20th century.

As members of the BADA - The British Antique Dealers Association and LAPADA - The Association of Art & Antique Dealers we adhere to strict guide lines as affiliated members and pride ourselves on maintaining its high standards. We exhibit at the BADA fair in Chelsea, London every March and the LAPADA Fair in Mayfair, London every September.