| Tanva Handmade Tibetan Rug Workshop, Lhasa |
| Tanva main page |
| How to get to Tanva |
| Tanva map |
| Lhasa handicrafts guide |
| Tanva handmade rugs |
Tanva is the name of Torana's own Tibetan rug weaving workshop. The purpose of Tanva is to make the finest quality handmade rugs with both contemporary and traditional design.
Visitors are welcome on site and we have a shop where you can buy and order carpets, which can be shipped worldwide. We offer free shipping within China. Call Norbu's Lhasa mobile 86-1398 9908681 or call our office and leave a message 86-891-6160001, or contact me (Chris Buckley - see our "Contact Us" page).
Tanva is in Nam village, on the road between Lhasa and Gongar airport. |
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拉萨手工艺品选购
To locate the places in this guide, download our handicrafts map. This will show you both the Tanva weaving workshop (page 1 of the map) and the locations of handicrafts in the old town (page 2 of the map).
Finding genuine Tibet-made handicrafts in Lhasa needs a little effort, but in searching is half the fun, and you will see some of the most interesting parts of the old town along the way. |
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First, the challenge. The vast majority of paintings, statues, textiles and folk arts sold in Lhasa are made in places a long way from Tibet. This includes practically everything sold in the main tourist stores on the Barkhor, by the Potala and in the main hotels. The large majority of carpets (for example) are made by Muslim weavers working at factories in Qinghai province. Turkomen, Chinese and Tibetan designs are all on offer, and all are described as "Tibetan" by the cheery sales staff! |
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So how to find genuine Tibetan items? For Tibetan carpets I modestly propose that you visit the Tanva workshop.Tanva carpets are made by local weavers, using local, handspun wool. This might sound obvious, but it makes us unique in the Lhasa area
There are also other good things available in Lhasa. Many craft shops are concentrated in a narrow alley off the Barkhor called the Kyire Sanglam, and other narrow lanes in the old town are also interesting. The Dropenling Handicrafts center, a short walk north from the Barkhor, is a must-see destination. This organization is dedicated to supporting traditional artisans and has an excellent and popular gallery.
Thangka paintings
For locally made thangka, my suggestion is to seek out the small workshops where they are being painted. In a genuine workshop you will usually find 3 or 4 painters working and you can see that you are getting the real thing. On the Barkhor I recommend the Thangka Mandala gallery. There are also many smaller workshops in the back streets around the Kyire Sanglam.
Avoid "old” thangka paintings. Genuine old paintings are rare, fetch high prices are not offered for sale in the tourist stores or on the Barkhor stalls. Instead, buy a new painting, get better value and support a traditional skill.
Tibetans did not traditionally paint thangkas on leather, animal skin being the product of a process regarded as unclean and therefore unsuitable for religious images. Modern paintings on leather are entirely an invention of the tourist trade.
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Sculpture
Native Tibetan sculptors make repousse works made from gilded copper sheet, and painted clay sculptures and masks. The clay items are a little fragile, and most of the repousse is rather too large to take home, but the workshops are fascinating to see.
Cast bronze and brass sculptures are not made in Lhasa these days, so everything of this type that you see is imported. Nepalese (Newari) sculptors used to cast bronze in Lhasa, but this community left in the mid 20th century. The Dropenling Handicrafts center currently has a project to revive this skill amongst local artisans.
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painted clay sculpture on display in a Lhasa workshop |
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Jewelery
Like bronze casting, this art was (and still is) the traditional preserve of Newari craftsmen. Most of the new jewelry you will see in Tibetan stores is made in Nepal, including nearly all silver and turquoise. While I am generally not a fan of imported items in Lhasa I make an exception for jewelry since Nepalese craftsmen have been making items for Tibetan use for centuries, some of which is excellent. The Yarlung gallery has a good selection.
You can also find old jewelry on some of the market stalls around the Barkhor (alongside a larger amount of modern copies). There is some genuine turquoise around, but nearly all the coral on sale is fake. A very bright blue color is a sure sign of fake turquoise.
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silver gau (amulet cases), belt fastenings and cups on display on a Lhasa stall in the Barkhor |
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Tibetan Zi (gzi, dzi) beads are famous worldwide. These agate stones were made hundreds of years ago by a process involving coating dark agate with a mixture that bleached the stone to give white bands and “eyes”. Today very convincing modern copies are made in Taiwan, which is the source of nearly all the zi beads you will find in Lhasa.
Wily Lhasa traders are adept at relieving inexperienced and starry-eyed visitors, both Tibetan and foreign, of large sums of money for fake zi beads!
Textiles and clothing
The best place to find traditional textiles in Lhasa is the Dropenling Handicrafts center. There you will find locally made blankets, belts and shaggy Wangden carpets. They also have locally made clothing, including good festival jackets (in foreigner sizes) and small items of furniture.
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Antiques
You won't find museum-quality works of art (paintings, sculpture) in the markets in Lhasa, but there are plenty of old household items made from copper, wood and so on on sale. You can also find old jewelry, horse tack and so on. Many pilgrims coming to Lhasa will sell some jewelry or other personal items to raise money for their trip, so this makes some of the small stalls on the Barkhor interesting.
For higher quality items there are several more conventional galleries located around the Barkhor and the streets nearby. The focus is on decorative and household items, and on items that can best be described as "curios"”
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| Newly carved and painted folding tables in traditional designs in a Lhasa workshop |
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