Tibetan Carpet

Tibetan Carpet
General information
Name	Tibet Carpet
Original name	فرش تبت، قالی تبت
Alternative name(s)	Tibet Rug
Origin	Tibet
Technical information
Common designs	Geometric
Common colors	Ivory, Blue, Red, Yellow, Brown
Pile material	Wool
Foundation material	Cotton, Wool
Knot type	Asymmetrical (Persian), Symmetrical (Turkish)

Tibetan Carpet or Tibetan Rug is one of the eastern rugs that woven in Tibet.
Tibet, in Inner Asia, is bordered on the south by Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma, on the west by India, and on the north and east by China. The earliest archaeological finds of pile fragments in Tibet have been carbon-dated to 1700 b.c. There are rugs tentatively dated to the seventeenth century with reliable dating of rugs beginning in the 1880s. There are records of factory or commercial rug production from the late eighteenth century.
Tibetan rug design has been primarily influenced by that of China and, to a lesser extent, by East Turkestan. Some traditional indigenous folk motifs are used. Certain colors in Tibetan rugs have been associated with their function. Orange and gold are used in rugs for religious ceremonies. Maroon is often used in monastery floor coverings. Tiger skins were prized by ancient Tibetan nobles and officials. Thus older pile carpets, woven to represent tiger skins, are thought to be badges of authority. There are many examples of early Tibetan rugs in a checkerboard design.
Older Tibetan rugs, with a few exceptions, are all wool. Many of the older rugs have a red fabric edging and backing. Rugs are woven with a distinctive weft wrapping technique. Continuous supplementary weft is looped around two warps and then once around a gauge rod. After a series of loops are formed on the gauge rod in the colored yarn desired, the loops are cut and the gauge rod removed. Rows of cut weft are alternated with multiple rows of ground weft. The result is a pile structure that suggests overlapping shingles or lap strakes on a wooden boat hull. Some Tibetan rugs are woven with the symmetric knot. Knot densities vary from 20 to 140 per square inch. Older rugs are more coarsely knotted. Contemporary rugs are often sculptured after they are removed from the loom.
In 1959, with the assertion of Chinese control over Tibet, many Tibetans fled to Nepal, Bhutan, and India. There, in refugee camps, they began significant commercial production of rugs in the Tibetan weaving technique. Designs in these rugs are highly variable, with a few traditional design still used. Modern dyes are used and these are not selected in the harmonious combinations of vegetable dyes. These rugs have a knot density of about 50 per square inch and are well constructed. Recently, rugs have been commissioned in Tibet and woven using traditional methods and designs and vegetable dyes in a manner analogous to the Dobag project in Turkey.

History

Tibet is a region located in the People's Republic of China in East Asia. Tibet has the highest average elevation on Earth with the Himalaya Mountains located in the southern region bordering Nepal.
The Tibetan Empire was founded in the seventh century CE and lasted until the mid-ninth century. Over several centuries Tibetan tribes lived as semi-nomads, working in agriculture, raising livestock, and herding sheep. Tibet became a trading center for agricultural products from the neighboring provinces and countries. The Tibetan women are known for making handicrafts, silk products, and, most notably, garments, embroideries, and rugs.
Floor covering production in Tibet began in the thirteenth century with the making of Felt Carpets. This was a necessity for palaces and temples. Tibetan knotted pile rugs from the seventeenth century are known in the antique market. Designs are mainly geometric, with Buddhist symbols and other decorative Far Eastern motifs. Field designs with the Dragon motif and animals, especially tigers and lions, were popular. Abstract tiger stripes were also employed for field patterns.
Chinese pile rugs woven during the seventeenth century were made in the Tibetan areas of Kansu, Ningxia, and Suiyuan. Tibetan monks are credited with introducing and manufacturing rugs in Peking and other mainland Chinese cities in the nineteenth century.
Early Tibetan rug coloration features ivory, blues, reds, yellows, or browns. Some rugs were woven with natural-color wool. Tibetan rugs have cotton or wool foundations and a medium to long wool pile. The wool is high grade because of the Himalayan sheep and goat wool quality. The Persian (asymmetric) knot is prevalent, but also variations on it and loop techniques were used.
Early Tibetan rugs are in demand by collectors and can bring high prices in the antique market and at auction. Most early weavings are small items made for tribal daily use, such as bags, saddle covers, sleeping rugs (mattresses), and pillows. Weavers also made flatwoven Kilim rugs and blankets.
Today Tibetan rugs are made with decorative styles and lively coloration. Some rugs woven with natural-color wool are in demand by the design trade. Rugs are produced on a large scale and are mostly exported for the American market.

Bibliography

• Abraham Levi Moheban. 2015. The Encyclopedia of Antique Carpets: Twenty-Five Centuries of Weaving. NewYork: Princeton Architectural Press.
• Peter F. Stone. 2013. Oriental Rugs: An Illustrated Lexicon of Motifs, Materials, and Origins. North Clarendon: Tuttle.