How to recognize a Chinese rug
Antique Peking and Ningxia rugs are asymmetric‑knotted wool on cotton with a thick, soft pile in blue, ivory, apricot and gold with medallions, dragons, fretwork and lotus designs. Art Deco rugs from the 1920s to 30s (Nichols, Fette) are bolder, with asymmetric floral sprays and vases on solid fields of jade, plum, rose and black, often with sculpted (carved) outlines. The "90‑line" and "120‑line" rugs of the 1970s and 80s are very thick, very dense, deeply carved wool rugs in pastel Aubusson and floral designs. Modern Chinese silk rugs imitate Persian and Turkish designs at high knot counts.
Chinese rugs are in older Long Island homes and estates in Garden City, Rockville Centre, Hewlett, Manhasset, Sands Point, Huntington and Sayville, and in collections.
- Origin
- Peking, Tianjin, Ningxia, Shanghai, China
- Knot
- Asymmetric; 60–200 kpsi wool, much higher in silk
- Pile
- Thick, dense wool, often sculpted; silk on silk rugs
- Foundation
- Cotton; silk
- Dyes
- Generally stable
- Our method
- Dye test → firm dusting → cold immersion (wool) or flat hand wash (silk) → clear rinse → centrifuge → flat dry, sculpting groomed
