ANTIQUE TIBETAN CARPETS - continued.

The Development of Tibetan Weaving

All the tribes referred to in the previous section were, by the seventh century AD, united under one king - SONGSTEN GAMPO, and due to their superior iron weaponry, controlled all of what is now northwest China and the silk route running through this area. Controlling these trade routes meant trading with Central Asia, China and India. The panoply of trading items to which they were exposed must have included carpets and due to the wide-spread use of horses, even in these days it is likely they used carpets under and on top of their saddles (see below).

Saddle Set A
18th century saddle set
One can see the "cross" or tigma design from the nambu has been transferred to the design of Tibetan rugs in the examples below.
18th century Tibetan meditation rug. 18th century Tibetan bed-size rug.
18th century Tibetan meditation rug 18th century Tibetan bed-size rug
I have also found tigma designs on Iranian Afshar, Ersari Beshir, Afgan/Iranian Belouch and Uzbek pile rugs which must be a transference of design from Tibetan wool cloth being traded in these areas (see examples below).
20th century Iranian Afshar saddle bags. 20th century Ersari Beshir rug.
20th century Iranian Afshar saddle bags 20th century Ersari Beshir rug
19th century Belouch salt bag face. 20th century Uzbek Mafrash.
19th century Belouch salt bag face
 20th century Uzbek "Mafrash"
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