Antique Mushwani Baluch rug from Afghanistan. 147x85 cms

There is a group of rugs, bags and trappings from western Afghanistan that are identified in the market place as Mashwani or Mushwani. The Baburnama of Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur places a tribe called Mashwani in the area in the early 16th century. The late George Washington O’Bannon who traveled the area in the 1960s as deputy director of the Peace Corp also placed a tribe called Mashwani in the area and attributed these rugs to them.

Of Pashtun ancestry, this widely scattered tribe is Persian-speaking, living as semi nomads ranging across the hills south of the Amu Darya River in Herat and Dadghis provinces, and in small communities of sedentary farmers and traders in the villages around Bona Qara in north-west Afghanistan.

The rug has the traditional Mushwani design in natural colour indigo blue, terracotta and undyed white wool. Low overall pile.  What makes this rug stand from the rest is that the weaver has carried the traditional Mashwani motifs into the border. A rare collector´s piece

Material: 100% hand-spun sheep wool   

Size: 147×85 cms

Origin: Baluch Mushwani tribe from Afghanistan

Date of weaving: 1900s