The Tiger Rugs of Tibet

Tibetan tiger rugs were owned solely by the elite. They are very rare, there are probably fewer than 200 in existence, their history and usage still shrouded in mystery. Yet the diversity, creativity and apparent modernity of their designs are astonishing: their beauty a source of wonder and inspiration.

A “free-spirited collector and dealer with an eye for the new” (www.freundevonfreunden.com), Mimi Lipton has “collected 108 Tibetan tiger rugs, a number known in Tibetan Buddhism to be sacred. The collection and subsequent book known as The Tiger Rugs of Tibet became an exhibition that first opened at the Hayward Gallery in London, and then traveled around Europe.”

The book reproduces the 108 rugs of various design, illustrated in colour and accompanied by four essays: Philip Goldman contributes an ethnological exploration on the subject of tigers; Cyril Barrett analyses the visual aspects of the rug designs; Jim and Barbara Ford examine the techniques of Tibetan carpet making; and Tom Philips recounts his recent discovery of the world of tiger rugs. Lipton provides an introduction to the collection.

Published by Thames and Hudson, 1988. 191 pp. 4to. Hardcover; VF in dust jacket. (0500973695) [33.2]

$ 275.00