Attractive and very interesting carpet, seemingly from the Baotou-Suiyuan region of China with deep rich lustrous colours. And 'seemingly from Baotou-Suiyuan' only because although the design and colours point to there, this is the only carpet of this type we have seen with a weft of wool mixed with hair, as carpets from this region usually always have a cotton weft, or on very very very rare occasions just wool. So while the design is relatively common for its type, having some type of animal hair and wool combined for the weft is unique and rare. The main field design is sometimes referred as the 'bogu' pattern and consists primarily of three vases containing flowers and leaves with four other precious object across the bottom. The central vase is flanked to the right by an incense burner while to the left is a plate of fruits. To the far right are a stack of books, while the object to the far left remains unidentified. This main field is then is enclosed by first an inner border of pearls, then another border with the 'T-shaped' meander. The outer border is sectioned into variously designed ‘cartouches’, with each corner, although at a glance looking to have the same design, each have a different symbol embedded, each with a specific meaning. This carpet is woven as you see it, that is the wefts run across the widest axis. All natural dyes, size 2.31m x 1.60m (91” x 63”) made in the later half of the 1800’s. The ends and selvage need some reweave or stabilisation in parts, but otherwise this carpet is in very good condition overall for its age with full pile throughout. It has been in a collectors private collection since the early 1970’s, and this is the first time it has been on the market since then. So an attractive, rare and very interesting decorative piece for the astute buyer.