Antique Tibetan Tsukdruk Rug with Tiger Pelt Pattern
Tsukdruk rugs are possibly the most representative examples of the Tibetan nomadic weaving tradition. Woven with lanolin-rich highland wool, these come in narrow strips constructed on backstrap looms, and are part of the material culture of the nomads inhabiting the high pastures of the Himalayan mountains. Patterns are typically simple, either completely open fields with beautiful colour gradations or, more rarely, embellished with pattern which are representative of the Tibetan iconography.
Here the chocolate brown background is decorated by parallel and offset rows to small motifs derived from the stylisation of the tiger pelt. Tiger rugs were considered a symbol of high rank in Tibet, employed almost exclusively on weavings which belonged to the religious as well as secular upper class. The shaped format suggests that it might have been intended for use as a horse saddle cover.