Rare fret dragon seating mat woven in Ningxia, China, in the 18th century / 1700’s. Hand spun cotton warp (z?s) and weft (2 shoots, each of three off-white Z-spun single yarns) with fine lustrous wool pile and asymmetric knots open left, with a knot count of 32kpsi (496psdm). Four colours only; dark blue, light blue, golden yellow and apricot yellow, all naturally dyed. The archaic dragon heads remain recognisable while their bodies are geometric or fret styled. The back is covered buy a plain weave cotton cloth that is both hand spun and handwoven. Size is 83cm x 77cm (32.6in x 32.3in). It is in very good condition for its age, some low pile as to be expected but no ‘wear-through’ and no repairs or reweaves. a highly collectable carpet of a type that is only very rarely seen on the market today.