Tibet / China · Weaving / Carpet
ཁ་དེན (Khaden)
Tibetan khaden (ཁ་དེན) carpets are among the most technically distinctive in the world because of the rod pile technique — unique to Tibet among all carpet-weaving traditions. Where Persian and Turkish carpets use knots tied around warp pairs, Tibetan carpets use a metal rod inserted across the warp over which continuous wool yarn is looped — the rod determines pile height precisely, and when the row is complete the rod is removed and a blade cuts the loops in a single pass along the rod's groove. This produces a more uniform pile height than any knotted technique. The defining technical knowledge is rod selection: each pile height requires a rod of exact diameter — rod diameter = pile height after cutting. The rod set is the weaver's most important tool collection.
Risk level: Endangered · China National ICH list; Tibet UNESCO nomination in progress
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