A LARGE 'FIVE DRAGON' WOOL CARPET, QIANLONG China, 1736-1795. Finely woven with a central front-facing five-clawed dragon writhing around a flaming pearl, encircled by two pairs of confronting sinuous dragons, each chasing a pearl, surrounded by swirling clouds, bordered to the long sides with bands of pearls, key-fret, and the Eight Buddhist emblems alternating with floral designs, each end with a terrestrial diagram above lishui stripe.

Provenance: From the personal collection of Michael B. Weisbrod, New York, by repute acquired at Sotheby's in the 1990s for approx. USD 30,000. Michael B. Weisbrod is a noted scholar of Chinese art, who has published extensively on the subject over a time span of more than 50 years. In 1972, Michael joined his father Dr. Gerald Weisbrod's Asian art gallery in Toronto, Canada. The father-and-son team opened their New York location on Madison Avenue in 1977, and during the next 45 years the gallery held a significant number of exhibitions, selling to museums and private collectors across the globe, eventually adding further locations in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Condition: Overall fair condition with extensive wear, minor fading to colors, losses and tears, possibly minor old repairs.

Dimensions: Size ca. 480 x 350 cm

While the dragon itself is the symbol of the emperor, the number five is most auspicious and represents the 'Five Blessings (wufu)' of old age, wealth, health, virtue and peaceful death. The design of 'Five Dragons' also alludes to the 'Five Dragons of Yanshan (Yanshan wulong)', named after the five sons of Dou Yujun, who lived in Yanshan during the Five dynasties period (907-960), each of whom achieved exceptional success with their father epitomizing the ideal parent.

The Eight Auspicious Buddhist Symbols (bajixiang) amongst the dragons in the design are also unusual and suggest the possibility of the rug being used at Buddhist ceremonies or on special religious occasions. However, it also demonstrates the level of creative freedom exercised by artists during Qianlong's reign who were encouraged to produce pieces with one-off designs. See a zitan closet, where the bajixiang is carved amongst dense ruyi-form clouds, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Furniture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (II), Hong Kong, 2002, pl. 206, and a red sandalwood throne also carved with dragons and clouds, where the bajixiang is used as a design element on its own, ibidem, pl. 26.

Literature comparison:
A related Imperial dragon carpet dating from the 18th century is illustrated by R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Art, Vol. III, Oxford, 1981, no. 18.

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乾隆大型紅地五龍紋羊毛地毯
中國，1736-1795年。地毯正中央盤旋著一條五爪大龍，龍身與龍頭為深藍色，龍爪則是深藍色，龍看上去炯炯有神，面對一顆火珠，氣勢十足。在這條大龍的上下兩側，分佈著四條模樣相似的小龍，這些小龍都面向大龍團團圍住，一派祥和。而在五條龍盤踞的區域外圍，則有規律地分佈著花草、祥雲、五色波紋，圖案豐滿，氣勢恢宏。

來源：美國紐約Michael B. Weisbrod私人收藏。Michael B. Weisbrod是一位著名的中國藝術學者，他在 50 多年的時間裡就該主題發表了大量著作。1972 年，Michael加入了他父親 Gerald Weisbrod 博士在加拿大多倫多的亞洲藝術藝廊。這對父子團隊於 1977 年在麥迪遜大道開設了他們的紐約分館，在接下來的 45 年裡，藝廊舉辦了大量展覽，向全球的博物館和私人收藏家出售作品，最終還在上海和香港開辦分店。
品相：整體狀況良好，磨損嚴重，輕微褪色、缺損，撕裂，可能有輕微的維修。

尺寸：約480 x 350 厘米

龍象徵帝王，數字五是最吉祥，是代表著長壽、財富、健康、美德和安寧的“五福”。此外，地毯上的八吉祥紋也很不尋常，表明地毯可能用於佛教儀式或特殊的宗教場合。同時，它也展示了乾隆年間藝術家的創作自由程度。

文獻比較：
一件相近的十八世紀御製龍紋地毯，R. Soame Jenyns，《Chinese Art》，卷III，牛津，1981年，編號18。