Tibetan rug

The carpet-making industry in Tibet stretches back hundreds if not thousands of years, yet as a lowly craft, it was not mentioned in early writings, aside from occasional references to the rugs owned by prominent religious figures.

The monastic institutions housed thousands of monks, who sat on long, low platforms during religious ceremonies, that were nearly always covered in hand-woven carpets for comfort.

Wealthier monasteries replaced these carpets regularly, providing income, or taking gifts in lieu of taxation, from hundreds or thousands of weavers.

The illegal Chinese invasion of Tibet that began in 1959 was later exacerbated by land collectivization that enabled rural people to obtain a livelihood without weaving, and reduced the power of the landholding monasteries.

Weaving in the Nepal and India carpet workshops was eventually dominated by local non-Tibetan workers, who replaced the original Tibetan émigré weavers.

Today, most carpets woven in Lhasa factories are destined for the tourist market or for use as gifts to visiting Chinese delegations and government departments.

From the early 1900s a wider range of synthetic colors became available to Tibetan weavers, and this seems to have stimulated the production of new and more complex designs, also based loosely on traditional Chinese motifs.

Many Wangden rugs have a looser weave, lower knot count, and a thicker pile than a typical Tibetan carpet, and also sport a thick shaggy fringe.

Dark red Turkish imitations from factories in Qinghai are sold alongside other Chinese rugs and even silk carpets with Middle-eastern designs.

Government-sponsored workshops target the tourist and "official delegation gift" markets, but the wools have short staples and make carpets that are more likely to shed fluff and become matted after cleaning.

However, as an economic activity, Tibetan rug making provides valuable cash income for rural communities who weave in the winter months.

Several overseas investors and NGOs are trying to encourage a revival of high quality local wool and natural dyes in Tibetan rug making.

A small Tibetan sitting rug with traditional Gau (amulet) design, representative of the designs that are believed to be amongst the oldest on Tibetan carpets

Tibetan khaden (sleeping rugs) with designs typical of 19th century weavings

Tibetan khaden with designs from the early part of the 20th century showing the greater elaboration and wider color range from this period

A Tibetan tiger rug (modern) with and abstract pelt design. Rugs like this were used as meditation seats when tiger skins were unavailable

The term, "Wangden" is a marketplace term referring to a group of rugs of similar structure (a warp faced back weave). But given the wildly different palettes seen in these rugs, it is doubtful they could all originate from the small village of Wangden, located in south/central Tibet. A Tibetan Wangden sitting rug from the late 19th or early part of the 20th century. The red coloring and red fringe indicate that this rug was used in a monastic setting, probably by a senior lama since junior monks rarely owned such pieces