Beautiful, elegant and rare… In recent years Tibetan rugs gained tremendous popularity and attracted attention of legendary designers. However, due to their nature, they are surrounded by myths, many of which are false. In this article we will clarify some of them and show that Tibetan rugs are more approachable than we thought.

Myth no. 1: Tibetan rugs are made by refugees from Tibet

Sadly, nowadays the majority of “Tibetan” rugs are made in factories in Nepal and India. Only a fraction of what we see on the market are authentic Tibetan carpets.

Myth no.2: Only Tibetan wool is used in weaving a Tibetan carpet.

This is partially true. While original rugs from Tibet do use highland sheep’s wool to make carpets, woolen Tibetan carpets of Nepal and India use wool imported mostly from New Zealand. It is not possible to import wool from Tibet due to restrictions imposed by the Chinese government.

Myth no. 3: Tibetan rugs gain shine after some time.

Many people claim that thanks to lanolin found in the wool fiber, with age Tibetan rugs start to glimmer softly. This is untrue, as with time Tibetan rugs ten to dull if not taken care of properly.

Myth no. 4: It’s easy to recognize a Tibetan rug by the province it was made in.

When it comes to Persian or Oriental rugs, it can be fairly simple to recognize where it was made. It is mainly due to great diversity of both those kinds and different cultural influences. With Tibetan rugs it is not the case, as the country itself is very small. Numerous motifs and color palettes are shared among different craftsmen due to their common cultural origins and religion, a popular motif in Tibetan craft.

As we can see, people are often unaware of what is true and what is a simple misconception. We encourage you to visit our internet gallery and see our exquisite collection of stunning Tibetan carpets.