TYPE: A rectangular seating carpet (?)

CIRCA: early 1900’s

An odd size Tibetan carpet that may have been used as a dais / bench cover or for seating, or may have been a custom order for some other specific purpose. Too small from a regular khaden, unless made specifically for a child. The design is a variation of what is referred to in Tibet as pema chakdro, or ‘lotus in iron lockets’ (or to the Chinese as “geese flying south”); although here, instead of a lotus flower in the ‘lockets’, this design features the Chinese ‘shou’ character, or longevity symbol, which is a rare departure from the norm, while the outer border mimics the much loved Tibetan tie-dyed tigma pattern. All natural dyes – the only one debatable being the pink, although it is far from the ‘hot’ pinks we see with most synthetic dyes – with a beautiful abrashed blue and a supersaturated red. Hand spun wool warp and weft, which along with the biggish ‘loose-structured’ knots and lowish knot count point to a relatively early date of origin. A very attractive piece with a rather rare design variation.

 

SIZE: 1.13m x 0.49m

WARP: wool

WEFT: wool

KNOT COUNT: 28 kpsi