EDITORIAL REVIEWS
Book Description Tibetan textile weaving is an age-old craft that has won many lovers and admirers all around the world. The rich history and culture of Tibet is reflected in the aesthetics of the rugs and has won over many admirers around the world. Giuseppe De Giosa and his wife, Shirin, had been collecting Caucasian carpets for many years, but it was on trip to Tibet in 1991 that their love affair with Tibetan rugs began. Their passion for the aesthetics, colours, texture and design of Tibetan weavings has seen the couple amassing more than 140 carpets in their personal collection. In *Dream Weavers: Textile Art from the Tibetan Plateau*, leading textile authority Thomas Cole takes readers through the tribal tradition of the Tibetan weaving aesthetic. The tribal tradition, on which he speculated more than 10 years ago, is validated through the interesting synthesis of ideas and sources, and is discussed in a well-documented historical text that reads like an unfolding narrative. This perceptive text establishes a fascinating new light in which the Tibetan people and their traditions should be viewed. Accompanying the text are complete descriptions and technical analyses of 68 eye-dazzling rugs from the collection of Shirin and Giuseppe De Giosa. The weavings presented here not only reflect the inner warmth of a very soulful people, they represent a cross-section of the breadth of design as seen in the mind's eye of the Tibetan weavers.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 1 review)
A Breath of Fresh Air & Realism to Tibetan Rug Studies!! Finally, someone has succinctly and simply placed the Tibetan people, their culture and history as well as the weaving tradition within a Central Asian context. Devoid of the usual reliance upon Buddhism and the hocus pocus that pervades most texts of this type (ie. every rug is a meditation mat !), Cole has given a much need perspective through what appears to be a very sensible and well researched approach to the subject. The text really has little to do with rugs, per se, but more involved with early Tibetan history and medieval accounts of travel through the region. It was a pleasure to read and such an easy read too as it is written in a narrative style that belies the depth of research and the assumption of a scholarly tone that is achieved without pretensions or arrogance. For anyone who is truly interested in Tibetan weavings as well as Tibetan history, this book is a must read! Not to be missed! December 29, 2004