Description
This antique rug from Tibet measuring 143 × 66 cm (4′ 8″ × 2′ 1″) was hand-knotted in the 19th century and features a soft woolen fleece on cotton warp and weft. The art of knotting was practiced for centuries in Tibet, but until sixty years ago, Tibetan rugs were virtually unknown in the West. The Tibetan knot is a complex construction sometimes based on the Turkish knot, sometimes the Persian one. The wool thread is wrapped around the warp threads and on the right side of the rug to a thin heald, and then cut with a sharp blade creating a fleece of uniform thickness. Round medallions, creatures… and ribbon clouds decorate the warm russet field combined with calmer, more neutral hues creating a sense of balance within the rug. Whether as a floor rug or hung on the wall as a tapestry, it makes a classic and perhaps even more modern interior special!
