10'4" x 16'10"
Circa 1900
England
European carpets like this English example sometimes tread the line between western and oriental design. This allover reciprocal pattern of four-armed rosettes inscribed within circles looks vaguely Middle Eastern, but such patterns had long become familiar in European carpet and textile production. In many ways, the present example simply substitutes later, more florid design elements in place of geometric strap work roundels of the Holbein type. This suggests that 19th century English carpets are the final stage of a very long and creative friendship with oriental textile art.