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Size: 3 foot 9 inch by 6 foot 9
inch.
This is a very collectable
older Baluch
War Rug from a German Collection and should be of
real interest to serious war rug collectors.
The assault rifle reminds me of
the Iranian G-3. I mentioned this thought a while
back and a number of people wrote me nice notes
to take exception to my theory. I have studied
rugs and rifle silhouettes and I am still
convinced that this rifle is Iranian. Let me
explain my rational. There are only 4 rifles that
I can find that were available in the area in
quantity. I use the term "in quantity"
because I have seen this particular rifle shape
in many different rugs indicating it was
available in quantity. I see so many Ak 74/47
type rifles that I am convinced that this is not
one. It also does not appear to be a M-16 variant
and it is certainly not a Lee-Enfield 303. I have
reason to believe that the Iranian G-3 copy.
After the fall of the American ally Mohammed Reza
Shah large numbers of these rifles were diverted
to the Khorasan area where many were bought by
people from Afghanistan especially the Baluch.
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A number of years ago I
wrote an article for Oriental Rug Review called Afghan War
Rugs: If it Walks Like a Duck.... In it I broke a lot
of new ground trying to attribute the various types of
war rugs to where they were made. When I was writing that
article there was a real question in my mind whether the
Baluch weavers ever actually wove war rugs in any great
numbers. Now a few years later I have come to the
conclusion that during the war of Russian Aggression most
of the "Baluchi" war rugs were not Baluch but
that approximately 10 to 20% of them actually were
How We Select Our
Rugs
Color is difficult over the internet,
please use the Direct Scan below for the best
representation of color in this rug
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Baluch War Rug , Northwest Afghanistan.
Inventory #331 Size: 3 foot 8 inch by 6 foot 5
inch.
Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the
left. 8 knots per horizontal inch and 9
knots per vertical inch. 72 per square inch (1116
per square decimeter).
Yarn Spin: Z.
Warp: 2 ply ivory wool.
Weft: 2 shots gray cotton.
Pile: 2 wool singles.
Ends: 1 inch plain weave and overhand knots
with 2 inch warp fringe.
Selvages: 2 cord double looped black goat.
Handle: Durable, medium.
Further Notes: Excellent condition.
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The German Collection:
Late last year a friend
contacted me and asked if I would be interested
in any of the rugs from a large collection in
Germany. After seeing pictures I made an offer
for the entire collection and it was finally
accepted. Why it took over 6 months to ship these
rugs from Germany is beyond my comprehension.
Finally I got a call that Customs had released
these rugs and I finally have them to offer to
you.
Direct Scan
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For information on War Rugs please see:
Afghan War Rug Question -
RugNotes
Afghan
War Rugs: If it Walks Like a Duck... by J. Barry
O'Connell, Jr. (Oriental Rug Review, March, 1997)
For a discussion of Afghan Baluch and Baluch type see:
Parsons,
R. D. Oriental Rugs Volume 3 The Carpets of Afghanistan.
Woodbridge: Antique Collectors Club, 1983, 3rd ed. 1994.
Thanks and best wishes,
J. Barry O'Connell Jr.
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