CIRCA: Later half of the 1800’s
Stunningly beautiful relatively large Tibetan seating square in unaltered original condition with a central yundrung (swastika) motif and multiple borders all made with highly saturated natural dyes. The inner four corner fret designs are an interesting and unique rare purple shade – not dye run from the surrounding red colour – which is also highly saturated, while the green used throughout is beautifully abrashed. The central swastika, a symbol of power down though the millennia, is then surrounded by mandala-like fret work. The outer border is the ‘running t’ or Greek t’ design and is wonderfully abrashed. This piece would almost certainly have been used by either an elected high official, or for monastic use by a high lama for seating warmth while involved in ritual proceedings or for meditation purposes. Overall it has thick pile and is excellent condition save for some of the ‘frilly’ edges being worn away from long term use. On the back side it has unique strips of nambu type cloth backing the outer part of the carpet to help anchor and stabalise the interweaving of the frilly fringe, a technique rarely seen. The warp and weft (and pile) is hand-spun wool, with the warp being mixed with animal hair and the ‘big / loose knot often seen in old Tibetan carpets is used for constructing the pile. There are no repairs or alterations to this carpet, hence a unique opportunity to acquire a high quality rare Tibetan collectors piece.