A Chinese monastery meditation rug

An antique single seater meditation Ningxia Seating/Meditation Rug,China, from 19th C., 2'0'' x 2'4'' (61 x 71 cm). The woolen piled rug has a warp and weft with cotton and is made with indigo dyes. The border of the rug is framed with a pink corduroy fabric.

These rugs were used in monasteries with each square as the designated seat for a monk, the same size of the square suggests its use for a much smaller demography- possibly novice monks.

In Tibet, after the aristocracy, the monasteries were the largest landowners in Tibet and patrons and purveyors of the arts. Extreme weather conditions required monastic institutions to cover platforms with carpets for thousands of monks during religious ceremonies. These carpets had to be changed regularly due to use which required a constant supply of rugs for the monasteries. Monks and lamas interacted directly with Tibetan weavers leading to a proliferation of a unique kind of Tibetan carpets with simple motifs and muted colors.

Commonly made Tibetan carpets include: seat carpets (khagang-ma), bed carpets (khaden), and Saddle carpet sets consisting of the makden and maksho. Seat carpets were made for lamas or high dignitaries.

Smaller rugs such as this one were made in the villages around the monasteries but the larger carpets which needed multiple weavers and bigger looms were made in the workshops in the larger towns and cities.