Afghan Rugs the O'Connell Guide

Afghanistan opened to the western world in the 1960s and 70s and then the Russians invaded in 1979. Change started and by the 1980s and 90s entirely different rugs were seen.

We still see the traditional Afghan rugs like the 3' by 5' Andkhoy Turkmen Rugn (see below) but we began to see drastically different rugs like the Afghan Kazak to the left. Rugs like that were never seen in the 1970s but by the 1990s they became a significant part of the production.

Afghan Rugs: Silk Rugs in a Kabul Workshop 2007

AfghanMarkSM the new face of Afghan Rugs

Afghan Kazak

Up until recently Afghan rugs tended to be loose floppy unsophisticated village rugs. Then in the last 20 years better made rugs often in Caucasian designs began to show up in the market. These are often called Afghan Kazaks or Khargai rugs. Afghan Kazak is obvious, it means an Afghan rug often in Caucasian design. Khargai refers to the new looms made out of steel. Better looms allow weavers to weave better rugs.

The primary weaving groups of Afghanistan:

Pashtun: Over the last 130 years there has been a concerted effort by the various central Governments in Afghanistan to move the Pashtuns of the South into the north. This has been don to weaken other ethnic groups in Afghanistan and consolidate the hold of the Pashtuns on the country as a whole. This has resulted in encouraging weaving among the Pashtun who in their historic lands are not rug weavers. A good example of Pashtun pile rug weaving is the rugs of Cicaktu.

Cicaktu Afghan War Helicopter Rug

Pashtun Rugs:

Over the last 130 years there has been a concerted effort by the various central Governments in Afghanistan to move the Pashtuns of the South into the north. This has been done to weaken other ethnic groups in Afghanistan and consolidate the hold of the Pashtuns on the country as a whole. This has resulted in encouraging weaving among the Pashtun who in their historic lands are not rug weavers. A good example of Pashtun pile rug weaving is the rugs of Cicaktu.

Turkmen Rugs:

The primary group of Turkmen in Afghanistan are those of the Ersari group. This is despite the disagreement of prominent rug experts most notably Dr, Murray Eiland Jr. . Murray has written in numerous places including multiple editions of his very popular Oriental Rugs A Complete Guide that he has never found any Ersari in his travels in Afghanistan. Murray Eiland is probably the best of any of the Authors who write on Oriental Rugs but now and then I disagree.

I have long theorized that the problem is how do we establish identity. There is a political identity such as member of the Ersari confederation but political identities are transitory. Today there is no formal tribe or group of the Ersari Confederation. In some places we can use Religious identity. I am a Christian and belong to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. However if we apply this in Afghanistan it is meaningless to identify the Turkmen as Hanafi Sunni since that also applies to more than 80% of the country. So how do we identify these people from the other people of Afghanistan? I had the opportunity to meet Ibrahim one of the 23 sons of the legendary weaving master Khal Mohammad. I asked him what ethnic group he belonged to and he replied Turkmen. I asked which Turkmen group and he seemed confused by my question. I then asked what language did he speak and he told me Ersari Turkmen. Almost all Turkmen in Afghanistan speak Ersari he told me. When in doubt always identify weavers by their "Milk Language".

With Turkmen rugs the country of origin plays into the valuation. The conventional wisdom says that Turkmen wove better rugs in Turkestan or Uzbekistan than Afghanistan. So apply Rug dealers profit incentive and all the better Ersari Rugs were woven in the mid Amu Darya region of Uzbekistan. Hogwash as my grandmother used to say. Most Ersari rugs are from Afghanistan and that includes the best and the worst.

Afghan Rugs: Andkhoy Turkmen Rug

New Afghan Production

Afghan Akstafa Caucasian copy

Afghan Taimani rug

This is an example of a group of rugs that I saw in the market in the 1990s. In the Baluch Group but these were coarse with longer than average pile. I believe that the white, tan and brown wool was undyed. The group I saw were brittle and most of them had splits. I am not sure if that was the group I saw or if it is characteristic of Taimani Rugs.

Baluch Group Bag

This is an Afghan Baluch bag that I saw in the 1990s. It is a sort of Balisht but different than what I saw in the market. It was a mixture of weft faced brocade and twinning.

Hazara Kilim

This is a nice example a Hazara Kilim from Northern Afghanistan.

Mashwani Mafrash

Typically dark but with an amazing amount of fine detail work. The wool is thick large diameter fibers that tend to be a little bristly to touch. There appear to be a number of groups that are called Mashwani. These are from Western Afghanistan south of Herat.

Flatwoven Baluchi Bag

Cuchi Kilim Neo Tocharian

These are fairly rare and periodically show up in the Ghazni market place in Afghanistan. In the trade they are attributed to the Cuchi Pashtuns and I see these weavers as descendents of ancient Tokharians. The line of descent would be Tocharian, Wu Chi/ Yu Chi, Gandaharans, and today in the Pashtun group.

Baluch Prayer Rugs late 20th century

In the Baluch group there is a certain sameness while at the same time boundless diversity. Prayer rugs are popular so in the late twentieth century the weavers experimented with a wide range of styles. These are samples of what I saw.

Afghan Rugs: Mabasi Prison Kilim

Prison Kilims

Weaving crosses all strata of Afghan society. Prisoners in Afghan Prisons are not coddled as prisoners are in the United States. food is not a right and it is not free. A prisoner who cannot pay his expenses in prison may weave to earn his dinner. This kilim to the left is of the type and pattern woven in Mabasi prison. These Kilims are often used as pads for better rugs

Visit our Southwest Asia Time Line

Some Favorite Books On new Afghan Rugs and Afghanistan:

Emmett Eiland's Oriental Rugs Today

Parsons, R. D. Oriental Rugs Volume 3 The Carpets of Afghanistan. 1990, 3rd ed.,

Dupree, Louis. Afghanistan. Oxford Univ. Press (May 1, 1997). 1 Ed edition Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, (December 1973)

From Lloyd Kannenberg:
"One of the most useful books I have ever come across on Afghanistan is called just "Afghanistan". It is by the late Louis Dupree, and it covers all things Afghan, including history until about 10 minutes before the Soviet invasion in 1980. Really really good! And recently reprinted, in paperback, by Oxford University Press. By the way, Dupree's wife wrote the definitive tourist guide to pre-Taliban Afghanistan, but it is impossible to find a copy."

Articles that you may be interested in:

Chris Walter and Yayla Tribal Rugs - Child Labor: Child Labor: "Fair Business Practices" or "Bad Men doing Bad Things to Little Children for Money"?

Afghan War Rugs: If it Walks Like a Duck... by J. Barry O'Connell, Jr. (New article, March, 1997)

"A Look at the Word Tribal," by Murray L. Eiland, Jr., IX/5/40-41

Afghan Carpet Weavers: Junkies from Birth

For Further Reading:

Guide to Rugs & Books

La Miniature En Orient

JBOC's Notes on the Bible

Southwest Asia Time Line

Thanks and best wishes,

J. Barry O'Connell Jr.