Rug - Tibetan "Three Medallion" Rug, sleeping rug (khaden)

19th-century Tibetan rugs serve a variety of functions and come in many sizes. Their decorations consist mainly of Buddhist symbols. The Tibetan rug in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts is a small and rectangular khaden (sleeping) rug called a "three-coin" or "three-medallion" rug because of its design. The four corners of the field contain light blue and light green swastikas in a pale-yellow spandrel with stepped edges. The brick red central field is adorned with three medallions surrounded by cloud motifs along the central axis. In the main border, lemon yellow and ochre strips meander. The minor border has a dark brown ground adorned with a row of pearls. The rug is framed by a 3-8 cm, knotted fringe of yak hair.

See also: Museum With No Frontiers