A Blue Chinese not a Sad Chinese

This is an 8x10 foot wool hand knotted Chinese area rug.

What I love about this rug is the subtle details and the colours. It is a treat to see a Chinese rug that breaks with the traditional look.

A more typical Chinese area rug design features floral or dragon motifs.

The deep blue that the Chinese rug weavers use is amazing. I don't see it used in a lot of their area rugs, which is a shame. Most Chinese rugs are pastel in colouring.

The simplistic design of this rug makes you look at the border. It is considerable sized border, but it doesn't make the rug look out of proportion. It is very well balanced and doesn't distract the eye. This rug has a calming effect to it. I find it very inviting to enjoy.

The designs in the inner corners draws the eye in. I find myself looking at the border of the rug more so than the center of the rug.

This area rug would look great in a bedroom or living room. It doesn't feel like a rug I would out in a dining room.

You may feel different, but for me it is too soft looking for a dining room setting. Having chair legs moving over this rug would soon leave wear marks.
This is the best design detail of the rug. There are six of these surrounding the center medallion. This is what makes so special.

I am a true believer that the simple and subtle details that make a rug desirable.

Area rugs are pieces of art and not everyone sees or likes the same things about the same rug. I find this rug to be one of the many treasures from the orient.


Thanks for reading, RugloverMary

Chinese Sheep Skin?

Every once in awhile an area rug comes to our shop that blows me away.

Last week we had one such an item brought to us from Galiano Island. The craftsmanship that this rug/wall hanging has is pretty amazing.



I tried to find more about these kinds of sheepskin wall hangings, but came up very empty.

I could not find anything thing close to this workmanship on other sites. I can not tell you if this was a custom order piece or if they are made for market. The design is Chinese, but the construction is not typical Chinese.

The five clawed dragons used to only be for royalty.

I wrote a blog about five clawed dragons back in January.

The scene is very tradition Chinese with the two dragons going after a ball.


The red ball represents perfection and the dragons are trying to obtain it.

The back of the rug shows how much work went into making this unique sheepskin. Every little piece cut and sewed perfectly in place.

Amazing! This is a treasure that will be loved for many, many years.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary

Chinese Royality or just an Area Rug?

Today I decided to find out more about the history of the Chinese dragon used in area rugs. The usual happened; I found very little information about the design and tons of Chinese area rugs for sale. The information I did find was conflicting.
This Chinese Dragon rug was woven by Nepalese weavers. I love the bright blue used. That shade of blue isn't used often in area rug weaving and is usually found in Chinese, Nepalese and Tibetan area rugs.
The characteristics of a Chinese dragon are their bodies are shaped like a huge snake like lizard, with no wings and four legs and a head. it.

In a lot of Chinese Dragon area rugs the dragon would be snapping at a pearl or two dragons would be fighting over a pearl. The dragon represented the Imperial ruler and the pearl was perfection.



Last week we had a client bring in her pink Chinese area rug with a dragon on it.
She asked if I knew anything about the rug, such as the age and history behind it. I was told that dragons with five toes or claws were only made for royalty, however that is only partly true.

The confusing part is who to believe when it comes to when a dragon with five claws was only for royalty. I found three different dates, the first is 250BC, second is 1336AD and thirdly is 1783AD. As you can see it isn't a little difference as to when the decree went out that dragons with five claws were for royalty only. One could take a guess and say that all are correct depending who was in power at the time.
Early historic records showed the Chinese dragon had only three claws, but it was then increased to four and during the first Ming dynasty, the Emperor decreed that a five clawed dragon was strictly for the Imperial family and it was a capital offense for anyone but the Emperor himself to wear a completely golden five clawed dragon. The five clawed dragon was worn by the Emperor and the fist and second ranked princes. The four clawed dragon was used for imperial nobility and three clawed dragons were used by lower ranks and

the general public. If someone used the wrong colour or incorrect number of claws for their designation
on a dragon their entire family were killed. I think it is safe to say that the rule was strictly obeyed and there were no rebels running around with five clawed golden dragons on their persons.
An interesting fact about the number of claws found on dragons is that the five clawed dragons originated in China and the further away from China you go the fewer number of claws the dragon would have. For instance, Korean dragons usually have four claws and Japanese dragons have three.
The only real area rug reference I could find was that after China became a republic in 1912, area rugs were widely made using a five clawed dragon, with no deadly consequences.
It can be concluded that unless you own a Chinese five clawed dragon area rug that was made before 1912; You own a beautiful five clawed dragon area rug and not an area rug made for royalty. Sorry to say. I am inclined to say that any area rug made for royalty would be either in a museum or with their descendants and not in the hands of the general public.
Thanks for reading, RugloverMary.