Magnificent Antique Khotan Carpet

Khotan, an ancient Buddhist kingdom, was located on a branch of the famous Silk Road in Eastern Turkestan, in what is modern-day Xinjiang, China. Carpets from this region, though made in the cities of Kashgar and Yarkand as well as Khotan, are often called Samarkand rugs, after the name of the Uzbek city on the Silk Road that served as a major commercial hub for the sale and export of textiles. The tradition of rug weaving in this region goes back to around the 3rd century, although most of the surviving examples date from the 19th and 20th centuries.