pile rug (khaden)

wool weft, cotton warp, with a hand-sewn red border and a homespun cotton backing of a type used about 100 years ago

length 6ft. 1in., width 2ft. 11in. (length 5ft. 4 ¾ in., width 2ft. 11in., not including the red border); a standard-size Tibetan carpet known as a khaden

Gyantse, Tibet

early 20^th century

condition: pristine

provenance:  collected in Tibet by Jack Daulton

Inv. no. 8

The central field of this rug is decorated with three medallions, each containing a pair of cranes; the medallions are separated by two highly stylized Chinese characters representing long life.  In each of the four corners of the central field, there is a bat.

The outer border of the rug, beyond the central field, is decorated with the eight auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism.  See Trinley Chodrak and Kesang G. Tashi, Of Wool and Loom: The Tradition of Tibetan Rugs (Trumbull, Conn.: Weatherhill, 2000), at page 90, for an example with a similar border.