Mongolian Design Rugs

Mongolian design rugs are hand knotted wool pile carpets from the northern Chinese weaving belt that runs through Inner Mongolia, and most of ours carry Chinese in their own titles. The name describes a regional workshop style rather than a nomadic weaving: the tribal design value appears on none of the Mongolian rugs in our records.

Most of the ones we hold are nineteenth century, circa 1860 to 1900, and more than half are room size or larger, with about one in four woven square. The drawing is geometric, usually around a central medallion, with a fretwork border on two thirds and protective symbols, cloud bands and the wan motif recurring. Ivory, beige and cream grounds dominate, on three of every four, and blue does not appear on a single one. Their restrained palettes suit modern interiors as readily as traditional ones. Discover more about the history and characteristics of Mongolian rug weaving and Rugs Of Mongolia in our detailed guides. The buying side is now measured too. The 24 Mongolian carpets we hold are the older and larger half of the north Chinese weaving family, 18 of 24 nineteenth century and a median 77 square feet, and they carry roughly a 1.36 times premium per square foot over antiques of the same area and period. See our antique Baotou, Mongolian and Kansu rugs guide.