Traditional hand knotted carpets are the joy of most Tibetan homes. Weaving them is one of the skills that the Tibetans in exile brought with them when they left Tibet. Carpet knotting is an art by itself. Weaving a carpet is really labor intensive and it will take a skilled weaver a month to weave a standard 6’x3’ carpet. One square inch of carpet usually has 48 tp 66 knots and each and every knot that constitute this carpet is hand knotted.
Apart from traditional weaving techniques, another skill that is passed from generation to generation of carpet weavers is the traditional patterns on them. The designs are chartered out on a graph and the weaver translate the graphic designs into knots on a carpet.Tibetans use auspicious symbols like the conch or eternal knot, mythical animals like the dragon, snow lion and phoenix apart from floral designs and medallions.
The Tibetan refugee community in exile not only kept the art of rug weaving alive, but also made it into one of the best sources of employment to the community in exile. At present, it has become one of the main sources of livelihood for Tibetans in exile.
The exhibition of Tibetan carpets, many of them woven and loaned by the weavers themselves is a celebration of the survival and revival of this unique art - an art form that nearly became extinct following the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959. These Tibetan carpets woven in exile are one of the best examples of the Tibetans in exile conserving their tradition and expressing their cultural values in their work. Most of these carpets are woven in cooperatives in exile that allow them to support each other in their daily struggles and provides a forum to discuss their work. These cooperatives provide oppotunities to seek better returns for their work by finding direct buyer to their products. TCEF is excited about bringing these weavers and their art into this country because to the best of our knowledge there are very few venues here in the United states that exhibit this unique secular art of Tibet.
The exhibitions will provide the weavers great forums to present their art to a large audience of Americans here in Montana and Northwest. At the same time, it will provide interested Americans a great opportunity to not only view top quality handknotted Tibetan carpets, but also to talk to the weavers about their art and to learn about other aspects of Tibetan art and culture. It will help raise awareness of Tibetan art and culture here in the United States.
