Fragment of the Antique Tiffany Carpet with Lotus Flowers

The Tiffany carpet is the only large carpet known to have left the Imperial Palace in Beijing’s Forbidden City. Previously part of the Perenchio collection, this famous carpet measures 9.99 meters in length and was originally 9.68 meters wide, though it has been reduced to 7.20 meters in width. It was originally crafted in three parts to fit around the columns of an unknown hall and was last used in China in the private temple of Empress Dowager Cixi. Louis Comfort Tiffany of New York purchased the carpet, owning it for over thirty years.

Attributed to the end of the Ming dynasty, the carpet is believed to have been made in the early 17th century. Its field pattern features rows of lotus flowers on a soft beige ground, originally deep red. The center is adorned with a medallion formed by a blue line edged in ivory and pinched at the four corners. This field is enclosed by two borders of the same color, creating a wide band around the outer edge. The inner border consists of a lattice of stepped squares filled with swastikas, with a large rosette at each intersection. The outer border is a double version of the swastika fret. A field section of this design is shown here, with a few other fragments surviving.

The Tiffany carpet links carpets from the late 16th century to those from the late 17th century. Carpets with identical flower designs or the same specific ‘heavy’ weave are now referred to as the ‘Tiffany’ type, named after this significant carpet. Other notable examples include one in the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City and one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The Tiffany type is part of the ‘transitional’ group from the first half of the 17th century, bridging the identifiable Wanli carpets and the well-known Qing dynasty carpets of the Kangxi era, representing various workshops or production areas.

The exact origin of the Tiffany and earlier Wanli imperial carpets remains unknown. They differ significantly in wool, colors, weave, and details from later carpets known to have come from Ningxia, making it unlikely they were made there. It is possible that these carpets were produced in Beijing, in a specific workshop set up for the Palace. Current research in the Palace Museum Library aims to determine if any documentary evidence survives.