Afghan War Rugs


One of the more unusual areas of rug collecting is the contemporary genre of Afghan War Rugs. These are modern oriental rugs woven in Afghanistan, or in the Afghan refugee camps of Iran and Pakistan, during the Soviet invasion. The rugs are striking in design and noteworthy for their principle iconographical detail - military equipment used by the invading Russian army. Woven among the traditional folk art figures of birds, flowers and mosques are the compelling new elements of assault rifles, troop carriers, helicopters and bomber planes. Intricate border designs now incorporate hand grenades and tanks. These tribal rugs are virtually all woven by women, forced into exile by the invading Russian forces of the 1980s and now watched over by an authoritarian Taleban regime.

Afghan war rugs have gradually found their way onto the western market and demand and prices are rising steadily - with finer examples selling for at least $1000. Some weavers are noticeably more skilled than others, with the military aspects abstracted into more amorphous detail - thus, Soviet tanks come to resemble large beasts and jet planes metamorphose into birds of prey. Other less stylised rugs appear to be recording specific battles in actual places, with recognisable village landmarks and intricately detailed military hardware.

The exact roots of the Afghan war rug movement remain a little unclear. It was first speculated that the rugs were woven as tourist items for the occupying Russian forces. A more likely scenario is that the war rugs developed as a means of expression and commemoration for women deprived of a political voice. Interestingly, those rugs produced in the regions of Afghanistan where the Soviets dominated are marked by a proliferation of tanks and military helicopters. In those made where the resistance was fiercest the assault weapons of the Mujaheddin loom larger than those of their vanquished Russian counterparts.

Scholarship of the rugs has developed at a fast pace - with collectors and enthusiasts earnestly debating the differences between a Hind M-24 attack helicopter and a Hip-8 troop carrying craft. Much effort is now being spent on tracing individual rugs to specific skirmishes and events. Don't be too surprised if in the near future there is a major museum retrospective of these intriguing rugs. Are the Afghan war rugs fine examples of the rug-maker's art - or a brief aberration with little more than sociological significance?