A Chinese Imperial Silk Palace Wall Hanging Rug, Qing Dynasty

A rare Chinese imperial silk palace wall hanging, woven during the Qing dynasty for use within the imperial palace. Unlike palace carpets intended as floor coverings, the present example retains two suspension hooks sewn onto the reverse, indicating that it was displayed as a wall hanging. Finely woven predominantly in silk, the central medallion and the four corner spandrels are enriched with silver-wrapped thread, while the composition is enclosed by elegant bands of interlacing lotus scrolls. Most significantly, the upper border is woven with the five Chinese characters “武营宫备用” (“Reserved for Wuying Palace”), an exceptionally rare inscription identifying its intended palace destination or official allocation. Palace textiles bearing woven inscriptions of this kind are seldom encountered and provide valuable documentary evidence for the furnishing and organization of the Qing imperial court.

Imperial palace carpets represent the highest achievement of the Chinese carpet-weaving tradition. Produced exclusively for the imperial household, they employed the finest silk, carefully selected wool, and, for the most luxurious examples, gold- and silver-wrapped threads. Unlike modern synthetic dyes, Qing palace carpets were colored with natural vegetable dyes derived from safflower, gardenia, sappanwood, turmeric, walnut husks, and other botanical sources. These dyes produced remarkably soft yet brilliant colors that have remained stable for centuries without bleeding, giving palace carpets their distinctive elegance and subtle richness. The present example retains exceptionally fresh colors and is preserved in remarkable condition.

Unlike porcelain, jade, or bronze, carpets are inherently fragile works of art. Constant use, exposure to light, humidity, insects, and repeated handling resulted in the loss of countless palace carpets over the centuries. As a result, well-preserved imperial carpets are considerably rarer than other categories of Qing decorative arts. The present hanging, woven in silk, embellished with silver thread, and retaining its original palace inscription, represents an exceptionally important survival.

Today, it is estimated that fewer than six hundred classical Chinese carpets survive worldwide. The Palace Museum in Beijing preserves the largest institutional collection, with fewer than one hundred examples, while only a small number are housed in institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. Most surviving examples remain in distinguished European and American private collections, having left China during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Classical Chinese carpets only became widely known in the West in the early twentieth century. As rug scholar Arthur Urbane Dilley observed, “The advent of Chinese rugs in America was as dramatic as their quick capture of popular approbation,” following their first major American sale in 1908. Sotheby's has likewise emphasized the extraordinary rarity and understated elegance of classical Chinese carpets in The Subtle Beauty of Classical Chinese Carpets:
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-subtle-beauty-of-classical-chinese-carpets

Approximate dimensions: 38 1/2 × 73 in. (97.8 × 185.4 cm).

清代宫廷御制丝质挂毯

清代宫廷御制丝质挂毯一件。此毯并非一般铺地宫毯，而是背面保留两枚悬挂铜钩，说明其当时即作为宫殿壁挂陈设使用。全毯以真丝精织，中部团花及四角以银丝盘织，周围饰缠枝莲纹，色彩典雅柔和，保存状况极佳。尤为重要的是，毯面上缘织有“武营宫备用”五字，明确标示其宫廷用途。此类带有宫殿名称或用途铭文的宫廷织毯极为罕见，不仅具有极高的艺术价值，更为研究清宫陈设制度提供了重要的实物资料。

宫廷地毯代表了中国织毯艺术的最高成就，历来专供皇室使用。宫毯用料极为考究，精选真丝及优质羊毛织造，高等级作品更以金银丝织成纹饰。不同于现代化学染料，清代宫毯均采用红花、栀子、苏木、姜黄、核桃皮等天然植物染料染色，色彩柔和典雅，层次丰富，经数百年依然能够保持稳定而温润的色泽，不褪色、不串色，这正是宫廷织毯最重要的工艺特征之一。本件色彩保存尤为鲜艳自然，充分展现传统植物染色工艺的独特魅力。

由于地毯属于纺织品，不同于瓷器、玉器等坚硬材质，极易因长期使用、光照、潮湿、虫蛀及磨损而损毁，因此能够完整保存至今的清代宫廷织毯极为罕见。本件不仅保存状态优异，更兼具真丝织造、银丝装饰及明确宫廷铭文，尤显珍贵。

目前全球传世传统中国古典地毯已不足六百幅，北京故宫博物院收藏数量最多，亦仅不足一百件；纽约大都会艺术博物馆及美国乔治·华盛顿大学博物馆暨纺织博物馆等机构亦仅收藏少量实例，其余大多流散于欧美重要私人收藏。正因存世数量极少，中国宫廷古毯近年来愈发受到国际博物馆及收藏界的重视。

中国古典地毯直到二十世纪初才逐渐进入欧美艺术市场。地毯学者Arthur Urbane Dilley曾评价：“The advent of Chinese rugs in America was as dramatic as their quick capture of popular approbation.” 中国古毯自1908年首次在美国举行大型专场拍卖后，迅速受到国际收藏界的高度关注。苏富比亦在《The Subtle Beauty of Classical Chinese Carpets》（《中国古典地毯的含蓄之美》）一文中，对中国古典宫廷地毯的历史、艺术价值及国际收藏状况进行了系统介绍：
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-subtle-beauty-of-classical-chinese-carpets

约尺寸：38 1/2 × 73英寸（97.8 × 185.4厘米）。

Good condition, surface wear, fading to color, losses to threads, dirt, dust.