Antique Khotan Rugs and Carpets

Khotan is a city in Eastern Turkestan which produced fine quality rugs in the 18th and 19th centuries. Designs are usually of three medallions embedded on a red or plum field. Sizes are commonly 4x8 or 4x9 ft. Some of the older rugs have metallic threads in them.
Today, Khotan is a large agricultural area about 40 miles across and supports a population of about 1.4 million people. The population of the region is predominantly Turkish speaking, and they still write using the Arabic script. The relationship between the Chinese (Han) and the local population, while strained at times, appears predominantly one of cooperation. There are a number of towns and villages scattered throughout the oasis, with about 30 carpet workshops. When taken as a whole, the oasis is not so much a limited area as it is a collection of villages.
Not surprisingly, these carpet workshops cater to a wide variety of tastes, and many of them (particularly the smaller operations) operate independently. One in an outlying town only weaves silk rugs in Persian designs, while the largest workshop weaves coarser rugs in a variety of designs in Khotan. While the weaving tradition in this region has previously been based around use of cotton warps, rugs with all-wool foundations are also being made. Khotan rugs have been sought after and collected for hundreds of years for their simple design and muted colors and have been featured in the home of Adolf Loos, one of the most respected architects of the 20th Century.