East Turkestan, c. 386 x 211 cm, (incl. supporting linen: c. 432 x 287 cm), 17th/18th century, the early silk-and-metal products from East Turkestan are among the rarest carpets. This fragment, consisting of four pieces, comes from Austrian private ownership. Its parts were gradually put together and sewn by the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin on a linen support with eyelets stretched on a metal frame (available upon request). The piece belongs to the group of silk Khotan carpets brocaded with metal threads with “Herat” and floral style patterns in endless repeat.

Published:
Exhibition catalogue: Gewebt und Geknüpft IV, Antike Teppiche und Textilien aus oberösterreichischem Privatbesitz, exhibition of the “Linz group” of the TKF at Aschach Castle, 3-10 September 2010, p. 55, texts by Georg Butterwerk; middle section by Friedrich Spuhler, Carpets and Textiles - The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, London 1998, p. 191, fig. 1. Comparable piece: Kaschgar silk, c. 385 x 215 cm, around 1800, Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, published in: L. Larsson, Carpets from China, Xinjiang and Tibet, p. 112, fig. 142;

Further reading:
Hans Bidder, Teppiche aus Ostturkestan, pp. 74-77; Helga Natschläger and Angela Völker, Knüpfteppiche aus China und Ostturkestan, Die Sammlung des Österreichischen Museums für angewandte Kunst, p. 39.