AFGHANISTAN RUG
Size, 9.5 × 7.6
This rug has a remarkably soft yet firm texture. The rough beauty and the fine coloring are very attractive. The field is a rich shade of red verging toward the hue of a blood orange, and again gleaming with far deeper shades. The large octagons are defined by a very narrow dark brown line. Two sides of these octagons are in a deep, sapphire blue, while the remaining two sides are of an orange cast. The octagon sections are all ornamented, the small red diamonds at the edges being separated by dark green lines. The lattice-work design in the squares of the border of the rug are decorated with green and ivory, the latter in the hook design. The centres of all the octagons are of the orange shade, and one only is crossed through the centre, the markings being knots of green. Large diamond forms, barred with sapphire blue and rich green, are between the octagons on the field. Occasionally a small geometrical figure in either blue or green, with pale yellow or ivory, is seen, and a wide red webbing with heavy dark brown lines across it extends at some length beyond the border. The rug was woven in that northern region of Afghanistan known as Afghan-Turkestan.
Owned by Mr. George Hubbard Holt, Chicago.
Afghanistan Rugs
Afghanistan rugs are generally large and nearly square. They are coarser than the Turkoman rugs, but resemble them in color and design. The Afghans, however, are more striking, the octagon designs being larger and bolder. At Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, and in other cities rugs are found which are made by the nomad tribes on the frontier. The same tribes weave also the cotton and silk rugs said to be woven at Bhawulpore, India. The Great Rug in the Palace of Chehel Sitoon (forty pillars) at Ispahan, Persia, is said to be the largest ever woven, and to measure about sixty feet long by thirty feet wide. This rug was made in the sixteenth century, and is of Herat design and manufacture. Owing to political disturbances, weavers from Herat have settled in the province of Khorassan, Persia, since 1838, and prefer to call that their home.
Some rugs have a strong odor, which is especially noticeable in those of Afghanistan. The reason for the presence of the odor is that the animal's hair has not been properly washed. Nothing but a thorough cleansing on the back as well as on the surface, with soap and hot water seems to be effective in carrying it away, although certain atmospheric changes affect it. A damp, wet day brings out the odor strongly. Fortunately this disturbing element is not in all Afghan rugs. There is a great deal of force and strength exhibited in these rugs, and a richness most attractive in the finest specimens. A color plate in this volume, with its accompanying description, explains the typical Afghanistan rug.
Beluchistan Rugs
Beluchistan rugs bear the marks of nomadic workmanship. They show that they are woven by tribes who combine strength and skill. The designs are generally geometric, and bold in effect. The rugs have rich dull tones of blue, red, and often with markings of white or ivory on a foundation of dark brown, in fact so dark sometimes as to give the appearance of black. This is accounted for partly by the great abundance of goat's hair and camel's hair woven into it, which is sometimes dyed even darker than the natural color. There is a fine lustre in this rug, and it is one of the hardiest and most durable of all the Oriental rugs. The wool used is soft and the pile left rather long, which accounts in part for the rug being so thick and heavy. Occasionally we find a beautiful old prayer rug in brown tones, and with corner areas in fine dull reds and a wonderful deep rich blue.