warrug.com! Afghan War Rugs
 

Red War Rugs
"...they offer images of 21st-century realities, including our own, ABSOLUTELY worth pondering" - New York Times
Please click a war rug's picture, title, or number for details.

"Victoria St Landscape Rug"
This rug is in new condition. Max Allen, in his descriptions in Canada's Textile Museum Exhibition, describes this image thus:
""Flinders Street Station in Melbourne was built in 1854. It is the oldest urban railway station in Australia, and the busiest station in the southern hemisphere.""
. I was told by an Afghan friend that it is the Sultan Hussein Shrine, but I suspect Max is correct.		1437
$250

Three Panel War Sajada
Good condition. This rug appears not to have been blocked when it was washed after being woven, so it has a slightly bumpy lay. The border is a pattern one sees in published rugs from the 19th century.

This design is a later version of rugs like 1090 (Plate 25 in Pictorial War Rug Book) Plate 25 is from the early 1980s while this rugs is from the mid to late 1990s. Canada's Textile Museum in Canada exhibited an early example of this design which is also interesting because of its unusually large size. 		1438
$300

Small Pixilated War Rug #2
2047
$300

Contemporary Eight Lobed Traditional Medallion War Rug
2050
$300

Abstract Victoria St Landscape War Rug
This rug appears to be an abstract version of a rug like this (example) which Max Allen has suggested is Victoria Station in Melborne Australia. The background urban skyline is really beautiful. The similarity between the helicopters at the bottom and the helicopters on the right side is interesting. The main border of this rug is a very old pattern found in antique rugs from the Caucuses to the Afghanistan. The color and wool are reminiscent of Mushwani rugs from before the Afghan Soviet war.		1481
$300

Tanks, Helicopters and Stylized Fighter Jet War Rug
Very good quality and excellent condition. The border design, color and wool suggests this rug is closely related to classic ""10 Tank"" rugs in spite of difference in field design. The more brighly colored field images: red tanks, green tanks, red fighters give this rug a refreshing brilliance uncommon in ""10 Tank"" rugs. Blue wool is good quality as is blue dye.

The three columns of skinny images on each side and center of field are fighter jets, which have suffered what Nigel Nendon calls ""progressive abstraction"". Example, examle.		1478
$390

2002 Afghan War Rug
Condition of this war rug is new and perfect. It has good colors and clear drawing. Text is clear, origin Sherberghan, Afghanistan.		554
$400

2008 Jam Minaret Rug
Condition is excellent, as one would expect form a new rug. The landscape drawing is strong in this rug. The 13th Century Ghurid minaret is beautifully depicted. The middle ground is red and tan marled wool. Signed “Tareeq 2008”		1454
$400

Helicopter Border Version of Tank, Bomber Helicopter Style War Rug
This rug appears to be the latest iteration of the Tank, Helicopter, Bomber Style War Rug. The tank and helicopter motifs are reminiscent of Tank, Heli, Bomber style, but more importantly the pile wool, specific shade of blue used in field color, and most indicatively, the warp threads. The design has changed a bit and it is very interesting watching it change.

The overall design of this rug is successfull, particularly for the dispersion of small areas of colors and a variety of motif sizes. The poorly defined border of somewhat inarticulate helicopter is not particularly effective, but it does show will to innovate. One of best design element is the top row of helicopters treads where blue squares are outlined in red. Beautiful.		1476
$400

Dark Blue Ten Tank Rug with Muted Palette War Rug (Exhibition history #26)
The war rug is in like new condition. The olive greens, like ninety nine percent of Baluchi rugs from western Afghanistan has tip fading. The olive green, on back is more vivid, but on face it a lighter more brownish green. The blue filed color has very nice and subtle abrash. The blue color is a slightly tinted Prussian blue. These more recent examples of the Ten Tank design are better executed than the earlier brown ones. This rug is more finely knotted of better wool than examples from the 1990's. The blue field works really well. Also the combination of the large motifs, tanks, and the smaller motifs, birds, rifles, tertiary motifs. There is a good dispersion of colors in the tertiary motifs: olive green, maroon, tan, brown, and burnt sienna. In the earliest example of this rug the word ""Tank Tank"" was clearly written in Farsi script on the sides of each tank. In recent examples though, the script is nearly illegible.

This rug is the mate of #1482		1487
$425

2003 Rows of Weapons War Rug
This is a contemporary example of a war rug pattern dating to the mid 1980's. (example). The drawing is simplified and exagerated compared to earlier examples, but the overall effect of this rug is excellent. The tan images are outlined in red which pops from the blue background. Similarly, the maroon images are outline in tan making them pop from navy blue background. The navy color of this rug is particularly beautiful and an unusual specific shade of blue. Tan border functions well framing the field of war images. The border design is found in regular afghan Baluchi rugs from Herat and Farah provinces.		1485
$425

Large Tora Bora w/ Little Flower
The condition of this new war rug is good. This rug doesn't quite lay flat which is absolutely perfect for hanging as a great piece of art. The quality of the wool is unsurpassed, it is completely spun by hand and the sheen will become very luxurious over time. This map of Afghanistan is brilliant, with gorgeous mountains depicted by a blue and white speckled pattern and a child-like innocent color use throughout. This war rug is very vibrant, and the inclusion of drawings showing Chinook helicopters and handguns and the unusually drawn F-16s on the bottom makes this rug stand out like no other. Please allow the staff of warrug.com to point out a few more interesting details. Included in the drawing of the tank located on the bottom of this war rug are seats. This pattern is seen in the older Soviet-era rugs and stems from that tradition. There are also images of flowers to the right of the map just above the rifle. The drawing of the Fighter Jets under the Chinook helicopters are particularly nice and give the impression of speed. This is rarely seen in war rugs.		222
$450

Vine Border Afghan Province Rug with Blue Field (Exhibition #26)
Afghan province map rug showing some roads. Dated clearly 1385 which is 2007 in western calendar.		1470
$450

Small Ten Tank Style War Rug Featuring Black Tanks. (Exhibition #26)
The wool and knotting of this rug is not like Ten Tank rugs while the design is quite similar. The design difference is the use of different colors in rows of tanks. The sue of black, red, and golden yellow on tanks sets them off very effectively from blue field and blue and tan border. Its difficult to say absolutely, but this rug appears not to be a ""Ten Tank"" rug in spite of its design. Ten Tank rugs tend to have a straight fiber slightly sharp pile wool, and ropey brown warps. This rugs pile wool is curly and soft and its warps are very fine quality blond wool. As mentioned above also, the colors in this rug are not usual. Typically Ten Tank rugs are brown, tan, and blue. This rug has black, red, golden yellow, as well as tow browns.		1475
$450

Clock Tower War Rug
This rug is very unusual. The wool is very good. The design is unique. It appears to be an adaptation of designs like This war rug #1465 or Plate 36 in Kevin Sudeith's first book about war rugs.. The large clock is unusual relative to similar designs. The white of the tower from which the clock hangs is understated. The foreground of this rug is abstracted, and there are war motifs like helicopters and rifles, scattered throughout the foreground.

The structure of this rug is reminiscent of rugs like war rug #26. It is possible that both of these rugs represent the work of the same weaver some 10 years apart.

The washing of this rug was not totally successful, for one can see some red discoloration in the lighter tans and whites, please see photos. Also note the light purple is an old fashioned analine dye, and significantly tip faded. Most synthetic dyes used in carpets today are no longer analine, but my understanding is that the particular purple in this rug is analyne. Condition notes aside, this is an interesting rug.

One of the subtle, and important, ways I judge rugs is by their weight. The best rugs have a density lacking in more poorly made rugs. Its not so much about knot count, because this rugs knotting is not particularly fine, but when I finished inventorying it and laid it back on the pile I noticed it had that density that speaks so well of rugs.		1488
$475

Lion Rug
This older rug shows some wear. Also, knotting is atypical, knots are small and compact, but look oddly pixilated from back. The color blue is exceptional, ant typical of rugs like this with good wool and fine knotting. 		1466
$650

Clock Tower with Helicopters 2 War Rug
This rug, like its mate of similar weave and design, #1484 is the most interesting contemporary rug I have seen. While the helicopters are somewhat non discript, these rugs speak to the International Coalition's actions in western Afghanistan like no other rugs that we have seen.

This rug appears to be woven by the same artist as rug #1484. Besides the similarity of design, the similarity of material is exact. Rug appears new without any floor wear. Fuzz still on back of knots. There is one condition issue of note, there is a two inch cut that runs above first palm tree on left side just above red line over palm tree. Four warps are exposed for two inches, but the warps are unbroken. The wefts are broken and two columns of green and yellow marled knots are missing where cut is. Two columns of 11 knots each are missing. (I will repair this or have it repaired and make note here)

1489
$750

Clock Tower with Helicopters 1 War Rug
This is a new design in the past few years. Nigel Lendon, Max Allen and Kevin Sudeith have debated the monument shown. Sudeith maintains that it is a recently built monument built in a traffic circle in Herat, Afghanistan. Several rugs in our most recent shipment show this monument from several angles. This rug, and one similar example (link), are the best. The helicopters in the top right corner are unique to these two carpets. The helicopters ad excellent scale to whole rug. The emerald green in the cars in the foreground unusual material and doesn't feel like wool. The same material is marled into the first green and tan line on the top edge of the foreground roadway. The variety of marled colors give depth to pictorial space in this landscape rug. The geometric renderings of buildings is particular to these pictorial rugs from western Afghanistan.


Simply put, this rug (and its mate) are the best contemporary war rugs. This rug is great design with timely imagery.

For more information on pictorial war rugs please order Kevin Sudeith's book on the subject.		1484
$750

Black Baghlan w/o Tanks
Condition of this Baghlani war rug is very good. It has full pile, and no damage or repairs. Wool is thick and dense, but not soft of fatty - perhaps it has been harshly washed. Rug has dense felt like feel with softness found in most rugs with a felt like feel. This rugs handle is hard and stiff, consistent with type,
This rug shows lovely birds.		145
$775

2007 City Scene Sumac
Gul I'Birjista is the name of this type of carpet which combines sumac and pile. Parsons says it originated in Afghanistan during the 1960s. Currently, in our regular rug stock we have two sizes Gul I'Birjista rugs, and each size originates in a unique town. From scores of these rugs this is the only one featuring war motifs, specifically an airplane in the top right corner. The background of most Gul I'Birjista rugs is an off white sumac usually woven in a medium quality. The pile is dense and compact. This rug features very old fashioned style kilim skirts of red and blue horizontal stripes. Of the 100's of Gul I'Birjista rugs I have scene less than one percent are pictorial. This is an unusual and collectible rug at a good price because of its recent vintage.		1468
$975

Big Light Blue Helicopter Tora Bora Map Rug (Exhibition history #21)
new		542
$1000

Blue World Trade Center War Rug (Exhibition history 21)
2034
$1000

Exhibited in Miami Universit Art Musuem WTC Rug with Flight Numbers
2040
$1000

Golden Border War Rug with All Over Tank and Airplane Field
Like new condition. Light border wool clumpy with lanolin. The pattern of this rug is unique. Typically golden border rugs are either all over fighter jet designs, rows of tanks, or two ewer designs. This rug uniquely combines fighter jets, tanks, and		1467
$1200

Vase rug with Armor Border
For an 1980s rug this war rug is in good condition. The field blue is oxidized at tips. Pile is still full and complete. Excellent madder red in body of vases. Border tan color appears undyed, as does darker browns, light tans and whites. The drawing		1464
$2250

Light Field Floral Medallion
This rug is woven by the same artist as this rug The wool and weave of both are very similar, but so is the use of color, border proportions, image scaling. The clincher is the main border designs. Both are great rugs, noteworthy for their color.		2007
$2500

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