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Lot Essay
Tibetan pile saddle rugs (drumtse) were primarily woven for those whom could afford the luxury of a horse such as the wealthy nobility, rich merchants, lamas or high ranking members of the military. Decorated with colourful geometric patterns they also featured figurative designs filled with auspicious lotus flowers, dragons, phoenix, lions and tigers, as in the present example. Designed to sit beneath or cover the saddle of the rider, they appear in various shapes and sizes and were woven of sheep, yak or goat hair with a distinctive knot. The 'cut Senneh loop' in conjunction with the 'Tibetan' knot makes the weavings produced there unique to Tibet, (Mimi Lipton, The Tiger Rugs of Tibet, London, 1988, p.129). The shape of Tibetan saddle rugs is similar to those we know from Ningxia, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. The less common 'Butterfly' shape of the present lot is assumed to be modelled on English saddles imported from India in the early 20th century. This particular shape of rug was not intended to be used with the traditional Tibetan saddles, hence the absence of holes traditionally used for passing through the girth (Hallvard Kare Kuloy, Tibetan Rugs, Bangkok, 1982, p.30).A similar shaped, deep indigo top-saddle rug which is part of a complete set, was gifted by R. and L. Baylis to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York ('Saddle Rugs from China and Beyond', Koos de Jong, Hali, 169, p.77, fig.22). The sides of the present saddle rug are lined and edged with a simple blue and red cotton textile for protection against wear. A wider band bridges the two halves in order to extend them. Textiles in other colours and designs, such as the familiar p’ulo pattern are also occasionally used for these purposes. According to nomadic custom, earlier examples were knotted in wool on a wool foundation, and the more recent, late 19th and 20th century pieces, on a cotton foundation. This is based on the assumption that Tibetan nomads could not afford to buy cotton, a material they did not produce.
It would be hard to misinterpret the significance of the tiger that prowls through the bamboo on either side of this saddle cover. Baring his teeth, his sharp claws splayed and his head held high, he fills each panel and is the absolute metaphor of power. The cover would most certainly have been intended for an illustrious figure. According to Mimi Lipton, only those in power and authority had the right to own or use tiger rugs whether it be to cover their horse or their throne as Songsen Gampo, the first king of Tibet, did in the 7th century, (Lipton, op.cit, p.11). In his article on the subject, Koos de Jong, (op.cit.,pp.78-79) attempts to make sense of the chronological order of these weavings, with the earliest examples dating to around the 15th century, up to the most recent production in the first half of the 20th century. Those, such as the present lot, bearing more figurative patterns including auspicious figures and animals and which begin to resemble pieces from Suiyan-Baotou, were likely woven at the end of the 19th century into the first half of the 20th century.
It would be hard to misinterpret the significance of the tiger that prowls through the bamboo on either side of this saddle cover. Baring his teeth, his sharp claws splayed and his head held high, he fills each panel and is the absolute metaphor of power. The cover would most certainly have been intended for an illustrious figure. According to Mimi Lipton, only those in power and authority had the right to own or use tiger rugs whether it be to cover their horse or their throne as Songsen Gampo, the first king of Tibet, did in the 7th century, (Lipton, op.cit, p.11). In his article on the subject, Koos de Jong, (op.cit.,pp.78-79) attempts to make sense of the chronological order of these weavings, with the earliest examples dating to around the 15th century, up to the most recent production in the first half of the 20th century. Those, such as the present lot, bearing more figurative patterns including auspicious figures and animals and which begin to resemble pieces from Suiyan-Baotou, were likely woven at the end of the 19th century into the first half of the 20th century.