An exhibition at Linlithgow Burgh Halls brings together a variety of beautiful woven rugs, kilims (flat weaves) and other textiles to demonstrate how the beauty and complexity of nature – plants, animals and the natural environment – inspires tribal, village and city weavings from Iran to Afghanistan. 

Weaving is one of the oldest human crafts. In the heartlands of ancient weaving traditions, pattern and colour distinguish tribe from tribe, serving as tokens of power, tradition and style. Weavers all over the world delight in sharing and copying ideas from other cultures and, more than any other source of inspiration, it is flora and fauna which have inspired weavers for millennia.

The exhibition is presented by Edinburgh’s Nomads Tent, a warehouse of tribal art and artefacts directly imported from the Middle East, India, Turkey, the Caucasus, Pakistan and the Himalayan Kingdoms.