Important Early Afghan
War Rug Runner
Among war rugs Chahar Aymaq pictorials are some of the
most important. The wool is splendid. The drawing is
exceptional. This is a very special rug. In it we
incorporate tanks and trucks, jets and helicopters,
cities and mountains, and tree lined rivers. The rivers
are exceptional in that they are tree lined in a
traditional manner. In the Herat area many small streams
are tree lined and are rather distinctive.
Important Early Afghan
War Rug
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Northwest Afghanistan, 13 foot 8
inches by 2 feet 10 1/2 inch. Structure:
Asymmetrical Knotting, open left, 9 knots per
horizontal Knotting, 10 knots per vertical
Knotting, 90 per square inch, (1395 per square
decimeter) Minor warp depression.
Yarn Spin: wool Z.
Warp: 2 ply wool (very fine).
Weft: gray cotton 2 shots.
pile: 2 wool singles.
Selvages: 8 cord selvage with the inner 4 are
red and black checkerboard, the 5th is tan wool
and the outer 3 are dark brown goat.
Ends: 3/8 inch balanced plain weave skirt with
a band of twining and warp fringe each end.
Provenance: This rug appears in the picture
that was published with THE
WEAVINGS OF WAR By Eve Zibart, Washington
Post Thursday, November 12, 1998; Page T05. While
not in my collection the photographer wanted to
include this piece because of it's graphic visual
content.
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Afghan War Rug
The borders in this piece are
related to early war rugs in the Luca Brancati
collection published in an early Oriental Rug
Review Article. The armaments also hearken back
to that earlier period. I attribute this rug to
the Chahar Aymaq and to the early 1980's.
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For information on War Rugs please see:
THE
WEAVINGS OF WAR By Eve Zibart, Washington Post
Thursday, November 12, 1998; Page T05
Cry
Havoc by J. Barry O'Connell, Jr. RugNotes
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)
Afghan
War Rugs: A Sub-group With Iranian Influence An
Exhibition of a Variant Type by Ron O'Callaghan, with
thanks to J. Barry O'Connell, Jr. Oriental Rug Review
For a discussion of Afghan Rugs 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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