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TIBETAN FLASH GORDON HAND KNOTTED RUG, 8.0 x 14.0 - $1,000 (Mechanicsville - Studley)
condition:
like new
make / manufacturer:
Nepal
model name / number:
Flash Gordon Rug
size / dimensions:
8ft 0in x 14ft 0in, 75.8lbs
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Tibetan rug making is an ancient, traditional craft. Tibetan rugs are traditionally made from Tibetan highland sheep's wool, called changpel. Tibetans use rugs for many purposes ranging from flooring to wall hanging to horse saddles, though the most common use is as a seating carpet. The knotting method used in Tibetan rug making is different from that used in other rug making traditions worldwide. The Tibetan diaspora in India and Nepal have established a thriving business in rug making. In Nepal the rug business is one of the largest industries in the country and there are many rug exporters. The carpet-making industry in Tibet stretches back hundreds if not thousands of years, yet as a lowly craft, it was not mentioned in early writings, aside from occasional references to the rugs owned by prominent religious figures. The monastic institutions housed thousands of monks, who sat on long, low platforms during religious ceremonies, that were nearly always covered in hand-woven carpets for comfort. Wealthier monasteries replaced these carpets regularly, providing income, or taking gifts in lieu of taxation, from hundreds or thousands of weavers. Many aristocratic families who formerly organized the weaving fled to India and Nepal over the past century, along with their money and management expertise. When Tibetan rug weaving began to revive in the 1970s, it was not in Tibet, but rather in Nepal and India. The native Nepalese weavers quickly broadened the designs on the Tibetan carpet from the small traditional rugs to large area rugs suitable for use in western living rooms. This began a carpet industry that is important to the Nepalese economy even to this day, even though its reputation was eventually tarnished by child labor scandals during the 1990s.