I visited the Nakixwan Carpet Factory, the largest in the Khotan Prefecture, and named after the pioneer of carpetmaking in Khotan. The company was only four years old and was located in an old state factory. There was a faded red star above the entrance and about twenty-two looms working with seventy-four women. About a dozen children were running about and some very young girls were sitting and working next to women whom I presumed to be their mothers. There are forty looms in total in the building. The costs of the carpets rang from 200 to 2000 yuan per square metre depending on the density of knots (180 to 720).

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Khotan Carpet #42443

Antique Khotan, East Turkestan, circa 1900An allover pomegranate vinescroll trellis stylized in strident geometry unfolds dramatically against a deep blue-black ground on this stately and monumental antique Khotan. A main cloudband border encloses the field, its gentle spiraling curvature nicely counterpointing the angular accents of the pomegranate vinescrolls. Finely detailed borders of Turkoman hooked motifs make up the outer borders, reaffirming the geometry of the field on a smaller scale.