Museum-Quality Antique Rugs: Collection Highlights

These are the rugs and tapestries Kevin Rahmanan, who founded Rugs On Net in 1979, picks out as museum quality: seventeen pieces woven between the 1500s and the 1800s, from 18th century Chinese Ningxia carpets to a Safavid Persian court carpet, an English armorial Axminster and French Savonnerie carpets. Every piece is in our New York collection and can be seen by appointment.

• Oldest piece: a mille-fleurs tapestry fragment, circa 1550s.
• Ten Ningxia carpets and rugs from the 17th to the 19th century.
• Sizes from a 1 foot tapestry fragment to a 17′ 10″ square carpet.
• Viewing at 36 East 31st Street, New York, by appointment. Condition reports and more photographs on request.

Antique Chinese Ningxia carpets, 17th to 19th century

Ningxia, in northwest China, produced the earliest Chinese carpets that survive in any number. These pieces show the open fields, symbolic motifs and natural dyes collectors look for. They come from our collection of more than 1,850 antique Chinese rugs, one of the largest collections of antique Chinese rugs in the United States. See all Ningxia rugs.

Mid-18th Century West Chinese Ningxia Carpet

A square carpet with a rare, saturated yellow ground, a central medallion of stylized mythical beasts, scattered flowers and a Greek key guard border. Size 11′ 9″ x 12′ (358 x 366 cm). View stock number 20853.

Early 18th Century West Chinese Ningxia Carpet

Large indigo and cobalt cloud bands float across a golden yellow ground that has mellowed to ochre over three centuries. Size 3′ 11″ x 7′ 6″ (119 x 229 cm). View stock number 21641.

18th Century Chinese Ningxia Carpet

An interlocking lattice in indigo and camel, framed by a bold Greek key border. Dated circa 1700s. Size 5′ 9″ x 12′ 10″ (175 x 391 cm). View stock number 24257.

18th Century Chinese Ningxia Carpet, Ivory Ground

A room size carpet with flowering vines in indigo and pale gold scattered across an ivory field, without a central medallion. Dated circa 1750s. Size 9′ 2″ x 13′ (279 x 396 cm). View stock number 22965.

Mid-18th Century Ningxia Dragon Rug

A near square rug with a single stylized dragon in indigo and light blue on an earthy open field, framed by scrolling cloud bands. Size 3′ 2″ x 3′ 6″ (97 x 107 cm). View stock number 23371.

18th Century Northwest Chinese Ningxia Rug

Bold stylized peonies in indigo and ochre on a rare coral ground, with cloud band and key borders. Size 2′ x 3′ 4″ (61 x 102 cm). View stock number 21617.

Early Chinese Ningxia Rug, Geometric Lattice

An allover lattice of quatrefoil medallions in deep indigo on a faded camel ground, with a Greek key guard stripe. Dated circa 1650s. Size 4′ 2″ x 5′ 6″ (127 x 168 cm). View stock number 24056.

Mid-19th Century Chinese Ningxia Carpet

A monumental square carpet with a deep coral field, indigo and pale blue flowers and a central roundel of mythical beasts among clouds. Size 17′ 10″ x 17′ 10″ (544 x 544 cm). View stock number 24013.

Set of Seven 19th Century Ningxia Mats

Seven small square mats with yellow grounds, floral medallions in pale blue, rose and indigo, and blue cloud band corners. Dated circa 1800s. Size each 2′ 2″ x 2′ 2″ (66 x 66 cm). View stock number 25198.

Late 19th Century Chinese Ningxia Rug

An ivory field with a red border and a disciplined geometric design, in the small format Ningxia workshops wove as seat and door rugs. 1880s. Size 2′ 2″ x 4′ 3″ (66 x 130 cm). View stock number 6877.

Persian court carpet, Safavid period

Carpets woven under the Safavid dynasty in the 1600s are among the most admired in Persian weaving. See more antique Persian rugs.

Mid-17th Century Persian Safavid Isfahan Carpet

An oversize Safavid period carpet with an allover design of palmettes, vine scrolls and arabesques on a soft, aged coral ground, without a central medallion. Size 10′ 8″ x 26′ 4″ (325 x 803 cm). View stock number 20133.

European carpets: Axminster and Savonnerie

English and French workshops wove carpets for great houses from the 1700s onward. Browse more French and English antique rugs.

Early 19th Century English Armorial Axminster Carpet

A late Regency carpet from about 1820: a salmon orange field with corner escutcheons and swirling acanthus arabesques, inside a double floral and ribbon garland border on ivory. Axminster, in Devon, is where Thomas Whitty began weaving carpets in 1755. Size 14′ 4″ x 16′ 2″ (437 x 493 cm). View stock number 19056.

Early 19th Century French Empire Period Savonnerie Carpet

A deep claret field with an allover pattern of small rosettes, framed by a border of classical cartouches and garlands in coral, blue and cream. Circa 1820s. Size 14′ 10″ x 20′ 10″ (452 x 635 cm). View stock number 24012.

18th Century French Savonnerie Carpet

A grand central medallion framed by blue acanthus scrolls on ochre and ivory, with borders of roses and garlands. It shows the wear of its age; ask us for a condition report. Dated circa 1750s. Size 16′ 9″ x 23′ (511 x 701 cm). View stock number 19308.

Tapestries and tapestry weaves

Woven pictures and floral tapestries, from a Renaissance fragment to 18th century French weaving. See more antique tapestries.

16th Century Mille-Fleurs Tapestry Fragment

A fragment in wool and silk from the southern Netherlands, with tulips, fritillaries and other flowers in rust, sage and ivory on a near black ground. Dated circa 1550s, the oldest piece in this selection. Size 1′ 1″ x 1′ 5″ (33 x 43 cm). View stock number 25232.

Early 18th Century French Tapestry Weave Rug

A wool and silk flat weave with a bouquet of roses and foliage on an ivory field, inside a gold border of cartouches and acanthus scrolls. Size 3′ x 6′ (91 x 183 cm). View stock number 25095.

18th Century French Tapestry

A woven scene framed by an architectural trellis hung with garlands, inside a border of roses, foliage and birds on a soft ivory ground. Dated circa 1750s. Size 6′ 4″ x 9′ (193 x 274 cm). View stock number 20319.

How to view or buy a collection piece

Every piece can be seen at our showroom at 36 East 31st Street, 9th floor, New York, by appointment: book a visit. Ask us for more photographs, close ups of the back or a full condition report on any piece, by email at [email protected] or at (212) 683-0167. Designers and advisors can use our trade program, and collectors who already own an antique rug can ask for a free appraisal.

Collection highlights FAQ

What makes an antique rug museum quality?

Age, rarity, condition, the quality of the design and dyes, and historical importance. The pieces on this page were selected by Kevin Rahmanan and were woven between the 1500s and the 1800s.

Can I see these rugs in person?

Yes. Every piece is in our New York collection and can be seen at our showroom at 36 East 31st Street, 9th floor, by appointment.

What is the oldest piece in the collection highlights?

A mille-fleurs tapestry fragment in wool and silk, dated circa 1550s. The oldest carpet is a mid-17th century Persian Safavid Isfahan carpet.

Can I get a condition report before buying?

Yes. We send condition reports, extra photographs and close ups of the back of any rug on request.

Do you have more antique Ningxia rugs?

Yes. These ten Ningxia pieces are a selection from our wider collection of antique Chinese rugs, which includes more than 150 Ningxia rugs.