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Incomplete Carpet

Unknown artist, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 1730s

1.98 m × 5.49 m

Longer than a car. Stood on end it is 3.2 people tall.

Against things you know the size of

Height: 5.49 m
Width: 1.98 m
Medium: Silk, warp-float faced 3:1 'Z' twill weave with plain interlacings of secondary binding warps and supplementary brocading wefts, and with supplementary pile warps forming cut voided velvet; edged with silk, weft-float faced 1:7 satin weave with supplementary pile warps forming cut solid velvet; four panels joined
Kind: Textile
Made in: China
Where the measurement comes from: Measured by the museum. The dimension is the one recorded by the institution that holds the work.
As the museum records it: 548.8 × 198.3 cm (216 × 78 1/8 in.)
Why this differs from the record: Recorded as 1.98 m × 5.49 m. Turned to face the way the photograph does.
Credit: Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard Ely Danielson

Five questions, answered from its own record. What is AGAI?

How big is it?: 1.98 m × 5.49 m. Longer than a car. Measured by the museum.
When was it made, and when is it everyone’s?: Made Qing dynasty (1644–1911), 1730s. It is in the public domain, and The Art Institute of Chicago publishes it for open use.
Whose is it?: Everyone’s to see. It is held by The Art Institute of Chicago: Gift of Mrs. Chauncey McCormick and Mrs. Richard Ely Danielson.
How was it made?: Silk, warp-float faced 3:1 'Z' twill weave with plain interlacings of secondary binding warps and supplementary brocading wefts, and with supplementary pile warps forming cut voided velvet; edged with silk, weft-float faced 1:7 satin weave with supplementary pile warps forming cut solid velvet; four panels joined, made in China, qing.
Who speaks for it?: Its record at The Art Institute of Chicago. Measured by the museum. This gallery adds nothing it cannot cite.

One email. The smallest thing in the collection, the largest, and two that hang well together.

Scored on colour, shape, era and scale, the same way the gallery hangs them.