THE VARIOUS SHAPES OF SADDLE CARPETS

(From throughout Tibet, Ningxia and the Baotou – Suiyuan region, and other information related to them)

Saddle carpets of various shapes and sizes (more on that below) are found throughout Tibet, Ningxia and the Baotou – Suiyuan region, and were almost always made to function as a set of two pieces (although singular pieces were occasionally made; i.e. to replace a worn out older one, etc). That is, there is an ‘under-saddle’ carpet, which is usually elongated and larger, and which lays between the horse and the saddle itself. Then there is the  ‘above-saddle’ carpet which is almost always smaller, is usually rectangular, or on occasion almost square, and it lays between the saddle and the rider, so as to ‘cushion’ his ride so to speak.

This two piece saddle carpet set was however initially woven as three pieces on a loom in a continuous weave so to speak, as can be seen by the illustration / example at right. Note how, when the two sides of the ‘under-saddle’ carpet are joined together to make the under-saddle piece – either directly, or as seen below with a center strip of cloth (more on that later too) – the pile on the ‘under-saddle’ carpet will ‘fall’ or point downwards, which allows for water (rain, etc) to run off the carpet, as opposed to being absorbed / trapped in the pile. Also note how the finished carpets have been edged in a felt protective border covered (in this instance) in red nambu cloth. Unfortunately, in years gone by, these carpet sets were often separated when sold by the ‘at source’ dealer in Asia, sometimes thinking they could (and often did at the time) get more money per piece if sold separately; so complete sets are rather rare and expensive now – and have been for many years – and are much harder to procure, especially antique ones.

SADDLES & SADDLE CARPETS IN USE

NOTE: The contemporary photos in the following four rows have been pulled from the world-wide-web many years ago. Should you own any of these photos, or there are any copyright issues with them, please notify us immediately and we will either remove them, or credit you accordingly. They are used here solely for educational purposes only.

Saddles come in various shapes and sizes, from the plain (left) that a nomadic Tibetan horseman may use, to the ornate (right) that a nobleman or high lama might use.

Here we see both saddle carpets and the type of saddle as shown above in use on horses.

Yaks were also used for the transport of both people and possessions / trade goods. Here we see on the left a person riding on Yak (the crown prince of Bhutan when the photo was taken, now the king; note the soldier bodyguard), and a Yak grazing in a Himalayan pasture with saddle and carpets, and other ‘tack’ (woven decorations) still in place.

The black and white photo is, supposedly, of the 14th Dalai Lama and his retinue as they escape Tibet for exile in India in 1959.

UNDER-SADDLE CARPETS

(Featuring examples of rectangular, ‘butterfly’, square and other ‘odd-shaped’ saddle under-carpets.)

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the long rectangular wasp-waisted variety, centrally joined ‘as woven’ so to speak. The term “wasp-wasted” was coined to denote the pronounced narrowing at the center (width-wise) of this shape of saddle carpet. Note the four leather lined girth strap ‘holes’. While this shape of carpet is not so common, it is not so rare either. This carpet is of BAOTOU – SUIYUAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China and Tibet.

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the long rectangular wasp-waisted variety, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth. The term “wasp-wasted” was coined to denote the pronounced narrowing at the center (width-wise) of this shape of saddle carpet. Note the four circular unlined girth strap ‘holes’. While this shape of carpet is not so common, it is not so rare either. This carpet is of BAOTOU – SUIYUAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China and Tibet.

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the long rectangular variety, centrally joined ‘as woven’ so to speak. Note the four leather lined girth strap ‘holes’. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China.

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the long rectangular variety, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth; here a strip of tye-dyed ‘nambu’ cloth. Note only the two leather lined girth strap ‘holes’. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China.

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the medium-length rectangular variety, centrally joined together ‘as woven’ so to speak. Note the two leather lined girth strap ‘holes’, and the two areas directly below them that are without pile where the other two girth strap holes would have been placed (had the owner chosen to have four girth strap ‘holes’). This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China.

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the medium-length rectangular variety, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth. Note the two unlined girth strap ‘holes’, and the two areas directly below them that are without pile where the other two girth strap holes would have been placed (had the owner chosen to have four girth strap ‘holes’). This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China.

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the short-length rectangular variety, centrally joined together ‘as woven’ so to speak. Note the two leather lined girth strap ‘holes’, and the two areas directly below them that are without pile where the other two girth strap holes would have been placed (had the owner chosen to have four girth strap ‘holes’). This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, and this size/shape is predominately seen having been made there, but is occasionally made in other locations in China (but primarily then for the Tibetan market).

A ‘notched’ – i.e. the ‘stepped’ corner at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the medium-length rectangular variety, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth. Note the two leather lined girth strap ‘holes’, and the two areas directly below them that are without pile where the other two girth strap holes would have been placed (had the owner chosen to have four girth strap ‘holes’). This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, and this size/shape is predominately seen having been made there, but is occasionally made in other locations in China (but primarily then for the Tibetan market).

A ‘no-notched’ under saddle carpet of the almost square variety, centrally joined together ‘as woven’ so to speak. Note there are no girth strap holes. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin and although not rare, not so common either. This size / shape is predominately seen having been made in Tibet, but may occasionally have be made in other locations in China (but if so then primarily for the Tibetan market).

A ‘no-notched’ under saddle carpet of the almost square variety, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth. Note there are no girth strap holes. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin and although not rare, not so common either. This size / shape is predominately seen having been made in Tibet, but may occasionally have be made in other locations in China (but if so then primarily for the Tibetan market).

A so-called ‘butterfly-shaped’ under saddle carpet, centrally joined together ‘as woven’ so to speak. Note there are no girth strap holes, as this shape of saddle carpet is rarely if ever seen with them. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, and this shape is predominately seen only being made in Tibet, or very very occasionally made in other locations in China (but if so then primarily then for the Tibetan market).

A so-called ‘butterfly-shaped’ under saddle carpet, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth. Note there are no girth strap holes, as this shape of saddle carpet is rarely if ever seen with them. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, and this shape is predominately seen only being made in Tibet, or very very occasionally made in other locations in China (but if so then primarily for the Tibetan market).

A so-called ‘butterfly-shaped’ under saddle carpet of the wasp-waisted variety, centrally joined together ‘as woven’ so to speak. The term “wasp-wasted” was coined to denote the pronounced narrowing at the center (width-wise) of this shape of saddle carpet. Note there are no girth strap holes, as this shape of saddle carpet is rarely if ever seen with them. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, and this shape is predominately seen only being made in Tibet, or very very occasionally made in other locations in China (but if so then primarily then for the Tibetan market).

A so-called ‘butterfly-shaped’ under saddle carpet of the wasp-waisted variety, as often seen joined together with a separating strip of cloth. The term “wasp-wasted” was coined to denote the pronounced narrowing at the center (width-wise) of this shape of saddle carpet. Note there are no girth strap holes, as this shape of saddle carpet is rarely if ever seen with them. This carpet is of TIBETAN origin, and this shape is predominately seen only being made in Tibet, or very very occasionally made in other locations in China (but if so then primarily for the Tibetan market).

A ‘curved-notched’ – i.e. note the curvilinear / scalloped ‘corners’ at either end on bottom – under saddle carpet of the medium length variety, centrally joined ‘as woven’ so to speak. Note the four circular leather lined girth strap ‘holes’, a feature typical in some saddle carpets made in the Inner Mongolian area. While this shape of carpet is not common, it is not so rare either. This carpet is of BAOTOU – SUIYUAN origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China and Tibet.

An ‘oval-shaped’ under saddle carpet, centrally joined together ‘as woven’ so to speak. They come in longer and shorter lengths / shapes also, but this oval / elliptical shape is almost never seen centrally joined by a cloth strip, and rarely if ever seen with girth strap ‘holes’ either. They are, but only very occasionally like other saddle carpets, seen woven as one piece, that is no join in the middle at all, but this is the oddity, not the norm for any under saddle carpet. This carpet is of NINGXIA origin, but this shape of carpet is also made in other locations in China and Tibet.

An under saddle carpet made specifically for use on a camel. The four girth strap ‘holes’ that this carpet once had have been repiled by a previous owner at some stage in the past. This carpet is of BAOTOU – SUIYUAN origin, but this shape of carpet is sometimes made in other locations in China.

HORSE AND YAK BLANKETS

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Blankets for horses and yaks come in various shapes, however the trapezoidal shape seen above is the most frequently encountered and are generally made only in TIBET. They are predominantly made of knotted pile, but can also be found as tye-dyed ‘nambu’ cloth (with felt padded backing). Sizes vary but are generally in the approximate range of 0.90-1.2m high, 1.0+/-m across the top and 1.2-1.5+/-m across the bottom (The above right measures 0.95m x 0.98m x 1.30m)

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