Vintage Baluch kilim from Afghanistan. 104×78 cms

A hard to find vintage Baluch war kilims. This is the first time we come across a war kilim (normally the war rugs are woven with the knotted technique, not flatweave). It is also unusual to find such a small size war weave. The weaver has created a war kilim with a rather traditional and “tidy” composition. On an undyed plain kilim background, she has woven a series of traditional motifs such as a couple of trees with their branches, and also some geometric motifs. The border ending the kilim is also quite traditional. However, on closer inspection, we can see helicopters woven throught the whole kilim, as well as some simply drawn airplanes. This is the only war kilim we have found so far.

Material: 100% hand-spun sheep wool   

Size: 104×78 cms

Origin: Baluch tribe from Afghanistan

Date of weaving: 1980s

The Baloch or Baluch are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. There are also Baloch diaspora communities in neighbouring regions, including in India, Turkmenistan and the Arabian Peninsula.

The war rug (Persian: فرش جنگی farš jangi) tradition of Afghanistan 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 invaded their country. They continue to do so today in the wake of the United States’ 2001 invasion of Afghanistan which ousted the Taliban government of Mullah Omar 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 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.