Vintage Samarkand (Khotan) Handmade Wool Rug BB5263 5'4" × 8'10" $22,000

This circa-1860 vintage Khotan Samarkand rug features an elaborate all-over design of floral and linear abstractions in shades of blue, beige and brown against a deep rust field. A simple floral border surrounds the vintage antique rugs. 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.

Beautiful rugs from this region are typically rendered in a glossy wool, occasionally embellished with richly brocaded silk and metal-thread. Unlike vintage area 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.