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Afghan War Rugs: Herat, Afghan War Rug

Herat War Rug

3 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 2

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. One type I discussed were the rugs from Cicaktu. This rug is not from Cicaktu but it is related. Cicaktu was Pashtun and when the Uzbeks took that area the Pashtuns fled to the Herat area where the city was in the cruel grip of Taliban. The Cicaktu weavers made this design and it was copied by Herati weavers. This is the Herati version of a design historically called the Herati design.

The war came early and quickly to the Cicaktu area and they surrendered to the Soviets and did not participate in the war until the post-Soviet stage. Consequently the rugs are not about fighting or about the Mujaheddin because to the Pashtuns of Cicaktu the war was nothing more than helicopters and aircraft passing overhead.

Excellent Wool, Good Weave, Well Made! When you want to identify the earlier Cicaktu rugs or the later Herat rugs there are a few key identifiers. First of all the dyes are better in the Herat version and instead of orange dyed white the field is usually natural colored tan. Another easy identifier is the side trees which are added as filler since the same cartoon is used for runners and dozars. Another important identifier is that the Cicaktu selvages are tied much more neatly

How We Select Our Rugs

Afghan War Rug, Herat Area, Herat. 4th quarter 20th century. Intact full pile rug in unused condition. 3 feet 6 inches by 6 feet 2. (not including fringe).

Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the left. 8 knots per horizontal inch and 8 knots per vertical inch. 64 per square inch (992 per square decimeter)

Yarn Spin: Z.

Warp: White cotton.

Weft: Black Cotton, 2 shots.

Pile: 2 Wool singles.

Ends: 1 inch plain weave.

Selvages: double wrapped in black goat.

Further Notes: Excellent condition, in "As New Condition".

Direct Scan

I often get asked how I started collecting rugs. I started with war rugs. Two of the constants in my life have been that we always had Oriental rugs and I was always was fascinated by weapons. Later on when I saw my first war rug I was fascinated because it was a nice rug with interesting weaponry. During my political years I had never had the chance to work with the Afghani but through my work to aid freedom fighters in other parts of the world I was well aware of their fight.

To me War Rugs are not about the glorification of war or weapons. It is about the indomitable sprit of men and women who love freedom enough to fight for it. It is about those gallant people who do not worry about the "Status Quo" and are not "smart" enough to do the expedient thing. As I have said before: