Antique Saddle Cover | 119 x 53 cm | Nr. Z-2920

Antique saddle cover, dark blue with border

Origin	Tibet
Dimensions	119 cm x 53 cm (= 0.6307 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: cotton
knots per m²2	180.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	1920
Colour	Dark blue, Pink
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Rugs were probably known very early on in China known. The Mongol invasion around 1279 – the Mongols not only brought Central Asian rugs with them but also used rugs as tents and saddle gear – gave a boost to the local production that probably already existed at the time. An exhibition in Saint Louis (USA) in 1903 awakened interest in Chinese rugs in the Western world. Soon afterwards, rugs were being produced in China solely for export to Europe and North America.

This saddle cover highlights the original function of hand-knotted rugs. It was probably used as padding or a saddle pad while riding. This antique saddle cover is a collector's item. It is around 100 years old and that alone makes it a truly special piece. Antique rugs like this saddle cover remain as popular as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Pattern

The decorated edging (border) forms a lovely contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

The background of this saddle cover is dark blue. The border is worked in dark blue and pink.

Condition

This saddle cover has had admirers before you. It was made around 1920 . We have cleaned it thoroughly and lovingly restored it. It is therefore – despite its age – in very good condition.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for the pile of this saddle cover is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based dyes is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical colours. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that isn't too pale, you even need two kilograms of the dye weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as time-consuming and labour-intensive. And fewer and fewer people still master spinning wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. The wool dyed with natural dyes and spun by hand creates fascinating, shifting patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, comes into its own as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. The weft and warp threads of this saddle cover are made of cotton. This versatile material is tear-resistant and stretchy, which makes it especially suited to a hard-wearing foundation.