The war rug ( ''farš jangi'') tradition of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

has its origins in the decade of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 and has continued through the subsequent military, political and social conflicts. Afghan rug-makers began incorporating the apparatus of war into their designs almost immediately after the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

invaded their country. They continue to do so today in the wake of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan which ousted the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

government of

Mullah Omar Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. Born into a religious family of Kandahar, Omar was educated at local '' ma ...

but has failed to bring an end to violence in the country. The rugs produced in response to these events are among the world's richest traditions of

war art Military art is art with a military subject matter, regardless of its style or medium. The battle scene is one of the oldest types of art in developed civilizations, as rulers have always been keen to celebrate their victories and intimidate po ...

of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The terms ''Baluch'' and ''war rug'' are generalisations given to the genre by rug dealers, commercial galleries, collectors, critics, and commentators. The distinctive characteristic of these rugs is their capacity to convey their makers' experiences and interpretations of the circumstances and politics of war and conflict in the region. Since the withdrawal of the USSR, the same themes and subjects have been reused and remade. Additionally, after 9/11 the events of that day were recorded in carpets, and more recently – since 2015 – drones have appeared as subject matter.

Literature

* and Hans Werner Mohm: ''Lebensbaum und Kalaschnikow. Krieg und Frieden im Spiegel afghanischer Bildteppiche,'' Gollenstein Verlag (publishers), Blieskastel (in Germany), 2000, . (This is the first known serious and detailed study of any substance in the field of the so-called "War Rugs" from Afghanistan.) * Tim Bonyhady, Nigel Lendon and Jasleen Dhamija: ''The rugs of war,'' Canberra :

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

, School of Art, Gallery, 2003. * Enrico Mascelloni: ''War Rugs: The Nightmare of Modernism'', Skira, 2009, . * Till Passow & Thomas Wild (ed.): ''Knotted Memories: War in Afghan Rug Art'', Catalogue to accompany the exhibition featuring selected pieces from Till Passow's collection of Afghan war rugs, 27 February – 20 March 2015 (German and English), Berlin 2015, .Press Release
''Knotted Memories. War in Afghan rug art''
(PDF 6.44MB).
Kevin Sudeith
''War Rugs Volume One:Pictorial'', Mosques, monuments, minarets, and modern cities in war rugs from 1981 through 2010. This book demonstrates how some war rugs grew out of the long tradition of landscape pictorial rugs as well as the way contemporary weavers combined ancient religious and martial architectural structures with the most high tech imagery.

References

External links

*
''War Rug Styles''
War rug database b
''Kevin Sudeith''
Started in 1998 this is the most comprehensive index of war rugs available.
''Rug-of-War''
by Mimi Kirk, '' Smithsonian'', 4 February 2008
''Traditional Afghan patterns and war rugs''
Traditional Afghan rug patterns relationship to war rugs.
''Rugs of War''
Blog by Nigel Lendon and Prof. of the

''Drones Are Now Appearing on Afghan Rugs''
by Cosimo Bizzarri,

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

, 30 January 2015
in Review, Rugs from Afghanistan''
by Holland Cotter,

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, 11 February 2005
'' La fascinante et triste histoire des tapis de guerre afghans''
Postap Magazine, 18-09-2018 by Cyprien Rose.

by Christopher Helman,

Forbes Magazine ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also rep ...

22 December 2003
''Rugs Depict Terror Attack, but New York Isn't Ready for 9/11 Kitsch''
by Corey Kilgannon,

, 15 December 2003
''Despite Conflict and Repression, Creativity''
by Tammy La Gorce,

, 29 March 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:War Rugs Afghan rugs and carpets