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Afghan War Rugs: Floral Tree War Rug With Tanks

Floral Tree War Rug With Tanks

Size: 3 foot 9 inch by 6 foot 9 inch.

This is a very unusual floral pole tree war rug. This is a Baluch rug from Afghanistan There is a good assortment of helicopters and assault rifles. The color is very good and the wool is excellent.

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

Baluch War Rug , Northwest Afghanistan. 1980s. Inventory #: UKN50

Size: 3 foot 9 inch by 6 foot 10 inch.

Structure: Asymmetrical knot open to the left. 9 knots per horizontal inch and 9 knots per vertical inch. 81 per square inch (1255.5 per square decimeter).

Yarn Spin: Z.

Warp: 2 ply ivory cotton.

Weft: 2 shot gray cotton.

Pile: 2 wool singles.

Ends: .5 inch plain weave and overhand knots with 3 inch warp fringe.

Selvages: 2 cord double looped black goat.

Handle: Light-medium, durable.

Further Notes: Excellent condition.

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

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)

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 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.