I was in the Rug Room and a member was asking about an Older Chinese rug which is a Nichols. I have appraised these types of rugs over the years. I worked in Asian imports in the early 2000’s so I have a bit more experience with that area.
China, as they have been leading in the efficiency of wool processing. This is due to cost: processing in China is much cheaper than in Europe, and since Merino wool is the best wool in the world, them.
competitive prices keep the high-quality products available there. Wool in India on the
other hand is a very rural industry.
The events of history have always shaped the industry. During the first embargo, China, and India
stepped in to fill the market void. Rugs made in China were some of the only handmade rugs available.
At that time, the Chinese-made pieces were priced at what the market could manage. Now the same
rugs are selling. For like a tenth of the price so when you get an appraisal, it is based on the current market.
Current Chinese rug value at wholesale and retail depends on a bit about the history of the rug. Like we
spoke about in the section on valuing a rug. Is it a known designer? Is it one of a kind? Is it signed? Did
it belong to someone famous? What condition is it in?
The client I spoke to had it washed and put it on social media. If not, they would keep it.
It was one of those dense pastel colored pastel-colored carved rugs! On the other hand, if
A client has a Fette Li li or a Nichols rug, it presents a different story. The most common pictures
depicted in Chinese rugs include bats, lotus, flowers, butterflies, dragons, and fish…all of which have specific meanings.
The Shoo is one of the most common images seen in Peking rugs. This symbolizes long life. Other symbols include:
Bats — good luck
Butterflies — a Happy marriage
Dragons — power
Peony — wealth
Lotus — purity
Chinese rugs can be easily identified compared to traditional Persian rugs, due to the
unique characteristics found in Chinese rugs. The Chinese rug-making history can be.
ambiguous, without a clear idea of who influenced the origins of rug making.
in East Asia. What is known is that traditional rug weaving began in China in
the Northwest territories as early as the 500s. The design styles have taken their inspiration from
Buddhist and Taoist designs. The rich Chinese culture can be seen in their weaving,
and unlike the traditional Persian rug, the symbols and colors all have specific meanings.
and intents. In the late 1800s, a monk from the Northwest Territories of China moved and set up rug-weaving schools to help the poor earn an income.
The weaving style was much like that in the Northwest, utilizing the same.
symbols and designs. These factories were successful and started producing the first.
Beijing rugs. The 1920s and 1930s saw a slight change in the production of Chinese.
rugs to include more art deco designs to appeal to the Western market.
The term Art Deco refers to the style launched at the 1925 Paris World Fair Exhibition of Modern and
Industrial Decorative Art. Art Deco rugs introduced a new, nonrestrictive color palette. Bright, never-
Before-used combinations were the new trend. The soft blue of traditional Chinese rugs evolved into
a more vibrant lapis blue, while the traditional calm gold gave way to varying shades of ochre and green.
, raspberry, plum, purple, and teal also became popular. Because of its low production costs, China
became the hub for weaving Art Deco rugs exported to the States. There were hundreds of factories.
producing rugs, but it was two enterprising Americans who dominated: Helen Fette and Walter Nichols.
Little did they know their names would become synonymous with the term and all rugs are woven.
during that era, which ran from the mid-1920s & 30s to around 1935.
The introduction of this design and its success in the Western market saw the decline of the
Beijing rugs. Because rug weaving in Beijing began to employ its citizens, it.
was more important to the Chinese to keep working than to limit production and
increase profits, therefore an abundance of Beijing rugs was available in a brief time. Beijing rugs have
their own identifying characteristics that make them unique, even
among other Chinese rugs. The colors most often used are blues, tans, and
ivories. The design is an open field with various pictures placed throughout the field.
The images are often independent of each other — floating throughout the
field. Beijing rugs tend to be tightly woven, low pile with high-quality wool — compared.
to more modern Chinese production of rugs that are woven with a much thicker pile.