Chinese
Although carpet weaving is a very old tradition in China, carpets are not as widespread as other decorative arts and
it is only fairly recently that they began to incorporate the official style required by the Chinese court. There
are many reasons for this. Wool was not widely available except in the north-western provinces, and in the Chinese
climate and the way of life carpets do not play such a prominent role as they do it in other eastern countries.
The crane is a symbol of long life and is used in Chinese rug designs. This was also an emblem of first-degree
officials in the Manchu Court.
Chubi - Ziegler
This is a "Ziegler" rug of new manufacture. In 1883 a Swiss man by the name of Ziegler founded an
import company in Manchester, England and at the same time a rug factory in Sultanabad (today: Arak),
Iran. In this factory they produced rugs of high quality in beautiful pastel tones designs inspired by
Mahal and Farahan which were made mainly for the European taste. The success and the demand were huge
and "Ziegler" became an international trademark and a guarantee for beautiful high quality rugs. Antique
Ziegler rugs today reach record breaking auction prices especially in the USA. Since a number of years
these antique Ziegler designs are being reproduced in Iran, India, Pakistan and Egypt.
