Forbidden City Antique Rug Sells for Record Price — Christie's Auction Update
On the 14th at Christie's New York, an antique carpet from the Forbidden City sold for $1.71 million,
exceeding the high estimate by $500,000.
The pandemic continues to rage overseas, yet this ancient Forbidden City carpet fetched a high price at auction, reflecting the enduring allure of Chinese classical art.
Once laid within the Forbidden City, this antique carpet was known in the West as the “Tiffany Palace Carpet” after being collected by L.C. Tiffany for over 30 years. In China, however, it bears a poetic name—“One-Foot Lotus.” Each lotus blossom on the carpet measures one foot square. Walking upon it feels like treading through a sea of lotuses. Legend holds that when Shakyamuni Buddha was born, he took seven steps, each step causing a lotus to bloom beneath his feet. Perhaps this explains why this carpet was once used in the Forbidden City's imperial Buddhist hall.
The brief appearance of the “One-Foot Lotus” has reignited interest in “Classical Chinese Carpets” and “Old Ningxia Carpets” within the collecting community. Classical Chinese Carpets—Classical Chinese Carpets—is the international carpet world's designation for carpets originating from China's “classical” period: from the Ming Yongle reign to the Qing Yongzheng reign. Many masterpieces from this era originated in Ningxia or were woven using Ningxia techniques, leading Western carpet scholars to also call them Old Ningxia Carpets. Close examination reveals the artisans' mastery of subtle techniques, expansive color palettes, and impeccable proportions and balance.
Numerous Chinese art forms—including porcelain, silk textiles and embroidery, Ming-style furniture, and handwoven carpets—reached unprecedented artistic heights during this era.
“One-Foot Lotus” Drifts Westward
The story of the “One-Foot Lotus” carpet's journey to the West unfolded against a unique social backdrop.
By the late 19th century, China was engulfed in chaos and catastrophe. The aristocracy and landowning class were in decline, while merchants and industrialists gained prominence. This complex social landscape led to a sudden influx of ancient Chinese carpets into foreign markets. Most of these carpets ended up in the United States, where they were acquired by museums or circulated among private collectors. Western collectors came to respect and cherish the unique cultural motifs and weaving techniques of these classical Chinese rugs, causing their value to rise accordingly.
Photograph of the Forbidden City interior taken in 1901
The floor of the grand hall was covered with carpets.
The “One-Foot Lotus” first entered the public eye in New York in 1916, when Tiffany Studios (not to be confused with L.C. Tiffany) exhibited a collection of exquisite antique Chinese rugs, including this piece. Measuring 9.68 meters wide and 9.99 meters long, the carpet featured two longitudinal seams and two rows of circular patches on its surface—likely repairs for circular cutouts originally made to accommodate columns. Research clearly indicates this carpet was laid in a hall with two rows of columns.
The image below shows a computer-restored depiction of the “One-Foot Lotus” in its original state, which was essentially square.
The 1916 sales catalogue mentions that this Ming Dynasty carpet was acquired from China in the early 20th century. It is described as an “Imperial Ancestral Temple carpet,” with the catalogue noting: “...it was laid in Empress Dowager Cixi's chapel.” In 1900, during the occupation of the Forbidden City by the Eight-Nation Alliance, one-half of the two carpets that had been laid around the pillars was lost, and the remaining half was subsequently sold. Tiffany Studios' agent in China discovered this half in a temple in inland China. After over a year of negotiations with the temple's abbot, it was purchased. The missing half was found in a pawnshop in northwest China, and was also acquired and shipped to the United States. The two halves were reunited, forming a perfect whole carpet."
Re-creation of 'One-Foot Lotus'
The project to reconstruct ancient Chinese carpets may have originated at the Textile Museum in Washington around the 1970s, but it did not yield satisfactory results.
Among the dozens of classical Chinese carpet patterns restored by Ban Shan Dyeing and Weaving, the “One-Foot Lotus” stands as an important design studied in depth during the early phase. Since 2004, we have restored several versions of the “One-Foot Lotus” using traditional dyeing and weaving techniques, conducting extensive research and experimentation in pattern design, material selection, color coordination, and dyeing processes.
Re-created by Caravan Classics in 2004, Currently in a Private Collection in the United States
Width: 3.14 meters, Length: 4 meters
2008 version
Width 1.05m, Length 1.68m
2014 version, Zen Square
Width 1.02m, Length 1.02m
One-Foot Lotus in weaving, 2009
Width 1.9m, Length 2m
2014 version runner
Width 1.06m, Length 2.37m
After centuries of development and refinement, classical Chinese carpets gradually took shape and reached the pinnacle of Chinese carpet weaving artistry. Dyeing and weaving, as an indispensable part of civilization, merits our study not only for the techniques it encompasses, but more significantly for exploring the culture and civilization it nurtures and embodies.
Banshan Dyeing and Weaving Studio
Also known as Caravan Classics, we began re-creating ancient Chinese rugs using traditional techniques in 1999. All re-created pieces are hand-knotted and woven, dyed with natural dyestuffs, and have been exhibited at the National Museum of China and the Museum of Classical Chinese Furniture in California, USA. We also apply natural dyeing to apparel, home accessories, and artistic stage draperies. Collaborations with educational institutions globally have revealed the irreplaceable value of traditional crafts in youth education—a direction that will shape the future preservation and advancement of traditional dyeing and weaving.
For more information, follow our official account “Banshan Dyeing & Weaving” or visit our website.
www.caravanclassics.com.cn
