Vintage Silk Samarkand (Khotan) Rug BB6052 4'6" × 6'8" $3,000

This turn of the century vintage silk Samarkand (Khotan) rug features a large beige oval central medallion containing floral motifs and surrounded by curving vinery and garden imagery in shades of pastel pinks, lilacs and blues. A thin beige border forms the perimeter of the circa-1900 vintage carpet. The vintage Oriental carpets from Kashgar, Yarkand and Khotan in the Chinese occupied Autonomous Region of Sikiang are collectively known as Samarkands – lands of arid steppes, deserts and mountain ranges traversed for thousands of years by caravans of merchants and traders from China to Western Europe along the Silk Route. Rugs from this region are typically rendered in a glossy wool, occasionally embellished with richly brocaded silk and metal-thread. Unlike Persian rugs with their reds and blues, Samarkand carpets have soft colors with startling additions: magenta with acid green, peachy beige with brown, saffron yellow with lacquer red, bone with brown or slate blue.