Tibetan Pile Rug with Tiger Motif

Dense black tiger stripes across a cream ground, busy and slightly unruly

This pile rug with tiger motif is from Tibet, and dates to the 20th century. It is wool. Tibetan rugs served many roles, from floor coverings, wall hangings and saddle rugs to adornments for monastery pillars and doorways, and the craft itself has existed for at least a thousand years. A tall rug in ivory with many black stripes of varied lengths, bunched thickly at the center and thinner toward the ends. The edges are loosely fringed. The stripes run across the full width.

Stripes in a hurry, and in no particular order.