“RKO” Rug
- Culture
- Chinese
- Dynasty
- Qing dynasty, 1644–1911
- Date
- 19th century
- Material
- Cotton and wool
- made in
- Ningxia autonomous region, China, Asia
- Classification
- Coverings & hangings, textiles
- Collection
- Asian Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- including fringes at either end: 67 1/2 × 31 3/4 in. (171.5 × 80.6 cm)
not including fringes at either end: 65 1/2 × 31 3/4 in. (166.4 × 80.6 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Nellie Ballard White
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 321:1972
NOTES
Muslim weavers in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region of northwestern China created this rare and unusual rug. Rugs of this type share a number of visual characteristics: the “stroke and dash” pattern, a central medallion, and a distinctive lack of conventional borders.
The term “RKO” was first invented in 1967 by the scholar Charles Grant Ellis (1908–1996) in reference to a 19th-century Chinese rug loaned for exhibition to the Textile Museum, Washington, DC. Ellis described the dynamic field designs, as seen here, as similar to the “sonic sound waves” of a popular 19th-century logo. This particular logo belonged to the motion picture company RKO (Radio Keith Orpheum) Pictures, Inc., New York, and was used between 1936 and 1959. The RKO term was so appropriate that it has been used ever since to describe rugs with this design feature.
The term “RKO” was first invented in 1967 by the scholar Charles Grant Ellis (1908–1996) in reference to a 19th-century Chinese rug loaned for exhibition to the Textile Museum, Washington, DC. Ellis described the dynamic field designs, as seen here, as similar to the “sonic sound waves” of a popular 19th-century logo. This particular logo belonged to the motion picture company RKO (Radio Keith Orpheum) Pictures, Inc., New York, and was used between 1936 and 1959. The RKO term was so appropriate that it has been used ever since to describe rugs with this design feature.
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