Pillar Rug
1885 (dated)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Many Chinese Buddhist objects from the Qing Dynasty have links with Mongolia, as this pillar carpet. This rug was made specially for round temple pillars, and the curling dragon design is an appropriate one for such use, as the dragon designs join up when wrapped up around a pillar, and the rug designs look awkward when laid out flat.
The matching Mongolian and Chinese inscription at the top of each rug tells us they were presented for use in a Buddhist temple by a Mongol noble named Buringtogos.
The matching Mongolian and Chinese inscription at the top of each rug tells us they were presented for use in a Buddhist temple by a Mongol noble named Buringtogos.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Knotted woollen pile on cotton warp |
Brief description | Pillar rug, knotted woollen pile on cotton warp, China, Qing dynasty, Guangxu period, dated 1885. |
Physical description | Pillar rug, knotted in woollen pile on a cotton warp. The field has on a red ground a dragon, chiefly in blue and white, arranged so as to round the pillar on which the carpet is placed. At the bottom is wave pattern and at the top are three bands, the widest of which contains an inscription in Chinese characters. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Marks and inscriptions | (Chinese inscription attributes this rug to the Yi-you year during the reign of Qianlong, i.e. 1765CE.) |
Credit line | Given by Mr J. Highfield Jones |
Object history | T.238, 239-1928 are examples of specially designed rugs which wrap around the pillars of temples with a curling dragon design. They were presented in 1885 for use in a Buddhist temple by a Mongol noble named Burintogos, according to the inscription at the top of each rug in Mongol and Chinese. This rug with the Chinese dedication gives a date 120 years earlier (1765), but this thought to be a weaving error. Registered File number 1928/11150. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Many Chinese Buddhist objects from the Qing Dynasty have links with Mongolia, as this pillar carpet. This rug was made specially for round temple pillars, and the curling dragon design is an appropriate one for such use, as the dragon designs join up when wrapped up around a pillar, and the rug designs look awkward when laid out flat. The matching Mongolian and Chinese inscription at the top of each rug tells us they were presented for use in a Buddhist temple by a Mongol noble named Buringtogos. |
Bibliographic reference | Kerr, Rose ed. Chinese art and design. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1991, p. 110, Plate 43. |
Collection | |
Accession number | T.238-1928 |
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Record created | December 15, 1999 |
Record URL |
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