The Importance of Afghan War Rugs

For generation individuals have desired the ownership of an Oriental rug or carpet. Epitomising the idea of luxury and wealth or bestowing status upon the individual the Oriental rug has found a certain place in the culture of Europe and America.

Seen today as an important sector in the Fine Arts market, quality old and antique rugs and carpets command high prices, equal to those demanded by the best of English furniture, clocks and silver. It is not unusual to see a rug sold at auction for over £10,000 and indeed much more.

The values given to these rugs depends on their quality, age, style and design and place of origin. However, the market in old rugs and carpets is subject to the ebb and flow of fashion - as does much in the world of antiques.  For example, recent years have seen a rise in the interest in old tribal rugs and those rugs and carpets being woven today using vegetable dyes.

Yet with all the market interest being shown in oriental rugs, Afghan War Rugs have aroused  limited attention and appreciation. To the purist these unique items of ethnic art fall outside their areas of interest, being perceived by most in the trade as too recent and not  ‘traditional’ enough for the collectors market.

Nonetheless, there are some enlightened collectors, including myself, which view Afghan War Rugs as being very important in the history and development of  rug weaving and unique items of ethnic art. Furthermore, they may well be one of the last examples of free cultural expression by the Afghan people before westernisation finally takes hold.

Moreover, these rugs are also an artistic narrative, a picture record of one of the last acts of aggression undertaken by the Soviet Union during the Cold War; an event which was to eventually contribute towards the fall of the Soviet empire and the subsequent change in world affairs.  Each rug is an individual portrayal of the War as seen or experienced by tribal people and woven into history by the womenfolk of Afghanistan. Cumulatively they represent an irreplaceable record of a major 20th century event.

Collecting Afghan War Rugs

For the collector of Afghan War Rugs there is little published information. A few books about Oriental rugs and carpets make passing comments or brief references to this type of rug production. As a collector I have relied on speaking to various dealers, many who have visited Afghanistan or Pakistan as rug importers, for information about their production.

Much of the information I have gained has been contradictory, confusing and uncertain and illustrates to some extent the lack of  knowledge about this type of rug production. What is needed are basic guides lines to help the collector identify a particular war rug. For those who are familiar with the world of Oriental rugs and carpets will know the attendant difficulties associated with identifying rugs. Much of the knowledge used in identifying rugs is  specialised and has been acquired by the expert over many years of studying the subject. 

Although there are no problem with dating war rugs, as they were produced following the Russian invasion and occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, difficulties arise for the non expert in attributing rugs to a particular tribal group or region. This can be achieved with a detailed examination of the rugs structure and patterning but this does require a good in-depth knowledge of rug weaving. For those who are just collectors like myself and armed with only a general knowledge of the subject this aspect can be frustrating.

What is needed is a simpler way of identifying where a particular Afghan war rug was woven. This may be achievable by studying the various styles and types of weaponry and military symbolism used to decorate rugs. These will reflect regional experiences of the Afghan war. For example did one tribal group use a particular tank design only, did another have a preference for helicopters or scenes of military activity?

With a  reference source to the numerous war designs seen on these rugs, the range of military hardware shown and the style in which they are portrayed will no doubt enhance the collecting of Afghan war rugs, and lead to a better understanding of the people and the times in which they were created.

The term Afghan War Rug should strictly apply to those items woven between 1979 and 1989, the period of the Afghan- Soviet war. However many war rugs of varying quality and style have been woven since the end of the war, not only in Afghanistan but in Pakistan. During the war and in the following civil war, millions of people fled Afghanistan as refugees. A majority of these settled in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, in camps mainly around the towns of Peshawar and Quetta.

Among the refugees were many tribal people who brought with them their traditions of weaving. These people have produced, and are still producing, desirable and collectable rugs. Many of these rugs show departures from the expected traditional patterns and designs. Included in these innovations and developments are a new generation of war rugs.

These, because of their origin, can be termed as 'refugee' war rugs and can be placed in a class of their own. Many of these rugs are of poor quality, not only in material used but in the execution of the weavers craft. This can be attributed in part to the employment of children in their production and to commercial considerations; hence their crude and often primitive look.

However, these rugs with their 'narche jangi' (war design) do have merit, being part of the Afghan weaving tradition and reflecting a folk memory of a recent war. Some of these rugs are considered to be woven by Uzbek and Turkomen children as practise pieces but there are nevertheless many war rugs emanating from the refugee camps that show the skills and experience of the weaver by their quality of design and production.

Refugee war rugs are imported into Europe, UK and America by the dealers direct from Afghanistan, usually as new rugs, although many were probably produced over the last few years or so. Those originating from within Afghanistan, whether they are old or new productions, are collected either in Herat or Kabul and brought to the Kyber Pass. From here they are collected by the dealers and taken through the pass to Pakistan; a activity which occupies the summer months.

In addition there are also those rugs produced in the camps during the Afghan war period and excepting their place of production, can be treated as genuine war rugs. However there is the problem of identifying the two types, particularly as the rugs look almost the same in design and production. This is difficult and an area of war rug collecting which need some research. Many of these rugs are known as 'protest’ or 'mujahaddin' rugs and were made for propaganda and fund raising purposes. Other similar rugs are known as ‘memorial’ or ‘martyr’ rugs and woven to remember those fighters killed during the conflict.

To identify an Afghan War rugs present little difficulty. The hand woven design making up the rug pattern will show elements of a military nature. For example tanks, helicopters, guns and aircraft will be found among traditional pattern work and designs. In some cases rugs will have an overall repeat pattern of a military design, others will show just one or two military motifs.  Occasionally there are those which will show a 'war aksi' (war picture) where a battle scene or attack is shown. Other terms used to describe war rugs in general  are ‘fight carpets’ (qaline-e jangi) and ‘war carpets’ (qaline-e jihad).

Probably the most difficult aspect of collecting war rugs is in attributing an origin. It can generally be said that war rugs were the products of two weaving groups - the Chahar Aimaq and Belouch. The Chahar Aimaq are a group of tribes that inhabit much of NW and central Afghanistan. Among this group are the Taimani, the largest of the Aimaq tribes. Prolific rug weavers, these people can be credited for much of the war rug production.

The other weaving group, the Belouch, are a loose grouping of peoples, mainly nomadic and inhabiting areas of western Afghanistan, eastern Iran and Pakistan. This group has produced numerous war rugs and the name Belouch has become synonymous with their production and often attributed to other war rug producers. A majority of their rugs are sold under the label of Meshed (Iran) or Herat (Afghanistan) Belouch,  both market towns where the collection and sale of these rugs take place.

To identify the various weaving groups or tribes that produced a particular war rug is not easy and can be difficult; unless you are well experienced with tribal rug weaving. Identification is reliant on many factors. First of all the overall look of the rug will probably impart some idea of its origin. But, primarily it is the understanding and knowledge of the elements that go to make up a rug. These are the quality and type of materials used, the warp and weft, type of knot, knots per square inch, type of selvedge (edging), the end fringe, pile depth, colour palette, pattern and design work, the overall quality and the size. This also applies to kelims (flatweaves)

Also the type of military motifs shown may indicate the area of origin and possible date of production, but in the end it is through handling and looking at as many war rugs as possible that will eventually give you the experience. I am still learning.

Having said the above it is very tempting to start placing Afghan War Rugs into various categories. Although this would be desirable and helpful from a collecting point of view it is somewhat too soon -  the study and collecting of ‘War Rugs’ needs a period of maturity.

Not enough is really known about these rugs at present to construct a satisfactory chronology of their production or to categorise them by type, style, origin etc.  However, there is a need for a straight forward and general structure in which to place the various rugs and to give them some form of context. This can be as follows:

Production Groups

Group A.

Rugs produced in Afghanistan during the Russian Invasion period 1979 - 1989.

Group B. 

Rugs produced outside Afghanistan by Refugees during the Russian Invasion Period 1979 - 1989.

Group C.

Rugs produced after the Russian Invasion in Afghanistan  - post 1990.

Group D.

Rugs produced outside Afghanistan in the Refugee camps -  post 1990.

Style Groups.

Group A.

Rugs of traditional designs with added war/military iconography.

Group B. 

Rugs with pattern design being war/military iconography.

Group C. 

Rugs with pictorial scenes of places or people with war/military iconography.

Group D. 

Rugs with maps and text.

Further Reading

Tribal Rugs - A Buyers Guide. Lee Allane. Thames and Hudson. 1996.

Oriental Carpet Design. A Guide to Traditional Motifs, Patterns and Symbols. P.R.J.Ford. Thames and Hudson. 1994.

Oriental Rugs. Vol.3. The Carpets of Afghanistan. R.D.Parsons. Antique Collectors Club. 1994.

Kelims - A Buyers Guide. Lee Allane. Thames and Hudson. 1995.

The Atlas of Rugs and Carpets. A Comprehensive Guide for the Buyer and Collector. Edited by D.Black. Tiger Books. 1994.