Large print guide

War rugs: Afghanistan's knotted history

In December 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, beginning a protracted ten-year war. The Afghan-Soviet war helped to hasten the fall of the USSR in 1990, while Afghanistan itself descended into chaos. Islamist groups such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda became increasingly powerful. Al-Qaeda's involvement in the 9/11 attacks ultimately led to military intervention by the United States and its allies.

Afghan carpet weavers reflected on the conflict by incorporating images of tanks, helicopters and other military hardware into their designs. Initially bought by military personnel, journalists and diplomatic and humanitarian staff, war rugs were eagerly discussed, collected and exhibited worldwide. They continue to be produced to this day.

A desire for Afghanistan

Afghanistan's art and craft traditions are intertwined with its complex political history. Lying on major trade and cultural routes linking China, India, Central Asia and Iran, it is a melting pot of cultures and languages. For many centuries its cities were renowned throughout the Islamic world as refined cosmopolitan centres where arts and learning flourished.

Rich in gems and mineral resources, its strategic position made Afghanistan a valuable prize for forces seeking to extend their power in the region. Its borders fluctuated across time as its territory was conquered and ruled by numerous empires and dynasties. The rise of the Russian and British empires in the 1700s and 1800s saw Afghanistan turn again into a zone of political and economic rivalry. Their manoeuvres to expand their borders, control the region and access its precious resources became known as the Great Game.

Ghaznavid metalwork

These objects were made under the Ghaznavid empire (977–1186), which stretched from Iran to northern India. Its capital, the Afghan city of Ghazni, rivalled Baghdad as a centre of learning and culture, while cities such as Herat were known for metalworking.

The incense burner's pierced body and bird finial are typical of metalwork from Greater Khurasan, a region encompassing much of present-day Afghanistan, eastern Iran and parts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The bucket, probably used for ablutions, is decorated with animals and an inscription calling for good fortune, spiritual integrity and divine grace.

Bucket, Greater Khurasan, 1000–1100
Funded by P T Brooke Sewell, Esq, 1953,0217.1

Incense burner, Greater Khurasan, 1000–1100
Funded by Brooke Sewell Permanent Fund, 1968,1224.2

Picnic in the mountains

Herat was one of the great cultural centres of the Islamic world. This tinted drawing is attributed to Muhammadi, an artist at the court of Herat's governor, 'Ali Quli Khan Shamlu (d.1589). It depicts a lively picnic by a mountain stream with a princely figure, attendants and musicians. A youth climbs a palm tree to gather dates and a falconer stands in the distance.

Muhammadi of Herat (active about 1560–90)
Herat, Safavid period, about 1565
1920,0917,0.302

Hexagonal tiles

These tiles probably decorated the interior walls of a public building. They date from the Timurid period (about 1370–1507), when the ruling dynasty used art and architecture to express their power and authority, often importing craftsmen from far afield. Important patrons included Gawharshad, whose Persian name means 'joyful jewel'. She and her husband, emperor Shahrukh (r.1405–47), commissioned magnificent public buildings in Afghanistan and Iran.

Iran or Central Asia, 1410–60
Bequeathed by Miss Edith Godman, G.495 (3,7 and13)

Lions and flowers

This hybrid drawing reflects Herat's history as a meeting-point between east and west. The two mythical lions chasing ribbons were drawn in the early 1400s after the Timurid empire moved its capital from Samarkand to Herat. They reflect the Timurid court's admiration for Chinese artistic traditions. Persian-style flowers and a nightingale were added four hundred years later, when Herat was part of the Iranian Qajar Empire (1789–1925).

Herat, 1400–50 and 1800–50
Donated by Friends of Ralph Pinder-Wilson, 1977,0718,0.1

Tile fragments

These mosaic tiles are from the Musalla of Gawharshad, a scholarly, religious and burial complex built in Herat in the 1430s. They were made by assembling glazed pieces of ceramic to form intricate surface patterns – a technique developed under the Timurids. The fragments were retrieved by an officer in 1885 after the British army ordered the site to be demolished. Russian troops were poised to advance on Herat, jeopardising British interests in the region. It was feared they would occupy the complex, giving them a strategic advantage. The situation was eventually resolved through negotiation, so the 'precautionary' destruction proved unnecessary. Of the original complex of buildings, two mausolea and nine of the twenty minarets were spared.

Herat, 1400–1500
1907,1011.4–5

Mineral resources 

Afghanistan's mineral resources include garnet, spinel and turquoise. It is rich in gold, silver, copper and rare metals. Lapis lazuli has been mined in Afghanistan for over 6,500 years, was traded in antiquity and is found in jewellery from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and India. During the Afghan-Soviet war, the Mujahideen helped to finance their campaign against the occupying Soviet army by mining gems for the international market.

Inscribed seals and amulets

These objects are inscribed with Arabic or Persian. The lapis lazuli amulet includes the names of Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and the Twelve Imams revered by Twelver Shi'a Muslims. The glass cameo, imitating onyx, states Neither a firm decision nor caution can save one from fate, a reminder that a person's fate is decided by God. The name Sahl bin Sakan is written on the garnet, meant to be set in a finger ring.

Lapis lazuli amulet, Afghanistan, 1400–1800, 1880.3638
Glass cameo, Afghanistan, 1830–80, 1880.3637
Garnet seal, Afghanistan, 700–1000, 1880.3641

Buddhas of Bamyan

Two giant Buddhas were carved into the hillside at Bamyan in around AD 550–650, when Buddhism was a significant religion in the region. Shown here are a lithograph of one of the Buddhas, and a watercolour by the artist Khadim Ali, responding to their destruction by the Taliban in 2001. Ali depicts the Buddha's head with upside-down red calligraphic text seeping over it. Ali is a Hazara, a Shi'a Muslim group persecuted by the Taliban. Many Hazaras live in Bamyan. For Ali, the destruction of the Buddhas was an erasure of their cultural heritage.

Lowes Cato Dickinson (1819–1908) after Sir Vincent Eyre (1811–1881), Male Figure at Bameean, 1843
Donated by Miss M. W. MacEwen, 1970,0527.2.28

Khadim Ali (b.1978), The heart that has no love, pain or generosity is not a heart, 2010
Funded by Brooke Sewell Permanent Fund, 2012,3031.1

Souvenir d'Afghanistan

King Amanullah Khan (r.1919–29) introduced western-inspired political, educational, social and cultural reforms in Afghanistan. These albums depict Paghman, a village in the hills near Kabul that became the royal summer capital. It was a holiday retreat for the elite, with European-style villas, gardens and leafy avenues. Many conservative politicians and religious leaders opposed the King's reforms and he was overthrown in 1929.

Published by Papeghin, 1920–25
EPH-ME.9391-2

The Soviet invasion

In April 1978, a Communist-led government seized power in Afghanistan. Many Afghans could not reconcile its atheist ideology with their Muslim faith and an opposition movement developed, known as the Mujahideen. After a coup d'état in September 1979, a new Prime Minister, Hafizullah Amin (1929–1979), began to establish close relations with the United States. Alarmed by US influence at its border, the USSR sent troops into Afghanistan on 24 December 1979 to support a pro-Moscow government. The invasion turned into a long, drawn-out war as the Mujahideen continued to resist, supplied with military equipment by the US and other allies.

Carpet weaving in Afghanistan

Most Afghan carpet-weaving was traditionally carried out by women of nomadic pastoral and semi pastoral groups, such as the Turkmen and Baluch, in the north and west. They made knotted rugs with tufted piles, flatweave rugs (whose threads are not knotted, so the surface is relatively flat), animal trappings and storage bags for daily use.

Turkmen rugs were predominantly red, with repeat abstract motifs (gul), each related to a particular clan within tribal structures. Baluch rugs were more colourful and, while mostly abstract, often included figural and floral patterns.

Ethnic groups such as the Hazara, Uzbek and Kyrgyz also made flatweaves. They were usually striped with repeated geometric motifs, often enhanced with added embroidery. Rugs were also produced in urban and rural workshops with designs that varied according to region.

War rugs

Weavers introduced military imagery into their rugs soon after the Soviet invasion. An extraordinary range of designs have been produced over the years, widely varying in size and complexity. Early war rugs are steeped in Afghan carpet-weaving traditions. More recent examples, made in the wake of 9/11 and America's 'war on terror', are more crudely designed, emphasising specific military hardware or political messages.

Garden carpet

From a distance this carpet appears to have a garden design with repeating floral medallions. Close inspection reveals that helicopters are set among the flowers, where a conventional pattern might have included birds. Early war rugs subtly incorporated motifs of modern warfare within more traditional compositions.

Afghanistan, 1980–90
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.17

Working from shared traditions

The imagery of war rugs extends beyond representations of military equipment. Some motifs relate to specific local, ethnic or religious traditions. Others are drawn from the rich literary and cultural heritage that connects Afghanistan to Iran, Central Asia and Northern India.

This shared heritage developed because the dynasties ruling Afghanistan often held sway over neighbouring countries as well. Royal patronage attracted architects, scholars, poets, artists and skilled craftworkers from across these territories, creating a synthesis of artistic styles and techniques.

Iranian culture was particularly influential. Rulers often adopted Persian as the court language and embraced longstanding courtly traditions from Iran to justify and legitimise their sovereignty. The Iranian epic poem Shahnama ('Book of Kings') and its legendary hero Rustam remain popular throughout the region.

The Shahnama

The Shahnama, or Book of Kings, by the poet Abulqasim Firdausi (936–1020/6), is one of the most popular literary works in the Persian-speaking world. Completed in 1010 and associated with Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni (r.971–1030), it is an epic poem of over 50,000 verses. It is both a history, real and mythical, of the kings of Iran, and a guide to ethics and courtly behaviour. For centuries its fabulous tales of dramatic contests, chivalry, invincible heroes and good triumphing over evil have been memorised, retold and lavishly illustrated.

Rustam

The legendary hero Rustam (Rostam) is one of the best-known characters in the Shahnama. Rustam's family were vassals of Iranian kings and ruled Sistan, a province in south-east Iran. His mother was the daughter of the King of Kabul. Aided by his devoted horse Rakhsh and mythical beasts like the simurgh, Rustam carries out Herculean tasks, faces impossible challenges and fights against rivals, fantastical creatures and demons.

Rustam killing the White Div

In one of the most frequently depicted scenes from the Shahnama, Rustam kills the White Div, ruler of the demons of Mazandaran. After tracking the Div to his lair, Rustam honourably wakes him with a roar. A bloody battle ensues between the equally matched opponents. Rustam finally slays the Div, releases the imprisoned king Kay Kavus and uses the Div's blood to cure the blindness afflicting the king and his men.

Iran, 1600s
1974,0617,0.17.85

A modern Rustam

Rustam's status as an archetypal hero facing insurmountable challenges continues to this day. For contemporary artists in Iran and neighbouring countries, young protestors confronting the authorities or demanding rights and freedoms are modern-day Rustams. Here Iranian artist Mohsen Ahmadvand ironically depicts Rustam as a dejected, ordinary man wearing a helmet made of the scalp of the White Div.

Mohsen Ahmadvand (b.1982), Rustam, 2008
Donated by Maryam Massoudi, 2014,6053.1

Rug with Divs

An Afghan fights a Soviet soldier, surrounded by onlookers, helicopters and soldiers leading camels. The Soviet military are depicted as horned white demons, modern incarnations of the evil White Div. The Afghan soldiers are, therefore, identified with Rustam, who slays the White Div in the Shahnama. Some of the words in the design read backwards and may have been copied from a reversed template.

Afghanistan, 1980–90
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.12

Carpet with gun 'hand'

The border of this rug is decorated with tanks and other armoured vehicles. Some have Cyrillic letters, identifying them as Soviet. The centre is dominated by a four-barrel anti-aircraft gun positioned above a tank. On either side are tall poppy plants, which were grown for opium to finance the war effort.

The anti-aircraft gun also resembles the standards in the shape of a hand carried by Shi'a communities during 'Ashura processions during the Islamic lunar month of Muharram. These commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq in AD 680. Hand-shaped standards are also displayed during ziyarat, small pilgrimages to shrines of revered individuals such as those at Ghazni and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Afghanistan, 1980–90
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.13

Looms

Afghan weavers usually worked on horizontal looms. Small pieces were woven throughout the year but larger rugs tended to be woven outdoors during the dry summer months. Most knotted rugs from Afghanistan use the asymmetric Persian knot and are double wefted (with two horizontal weft threads between each row of knots). Afghan refugees, displaced by war and finding employment in workshops, have had to adapt to vertical looms, which take up less floor space.

Picture caption
Women weaving on a horizontal loom, Afghanistan
Jenny Matthews/Alamy Stock Photo

Rug making tools

Traditional piled rug-weaving does not require many tools. The woollen threads are twisted into knots and then cut with a carpet knife. Some knives have a small hook at the tip to separate and pick warp threads accurately when making a complex design or a tight weave. Carpet beaters or combs ensure that the wefts between rows of knots are tightly packed, and finishing scissors trim the surface of the rug.

Herat, Afghanistan, 1960s–70s
Carpet knives: As1974,02.1-4
Carpet beater: As1973,07.28
Scissors: As1974,02.8 and 12

Cultural diversity remixed

Afghanistan is culturally, religiously and ethnically diverse, with four major languages and about twenty dialects spoken. Although sharing a common cultural heritage, the different ethnic groups are staunchly independent, proud and self-reliant. Their rugs traditionally had distinct styles and imagery.

Over the last decades, vast numbers of Afghans have been displaced, both within Afghanistan or to neighbouring Iran or Pakistan. In refugee camps, weavers from relatively enclosed rural and semi-nomadic communities lived and worked alongside Afghans from other regions and encountered rugs made with different visual references. Many found employment in workshops, making war rugs commissioned to meet the growing Western demand. These were hybrid pieces, mixing new and traditional imagery, no longer linked to the weavers' tribal, regional or ethnic background.

Portrait of a young Hazara

This young Hazara boy was drawn in 1957. One of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan, the Hazaras are mostly Shi'a Muslims. They were a relatively autonomous community within Afghanistan from the 1500s to the 1890s, when they were forcibly integrated into the predominantly Sunni Afghan state. Since then, they have faced discrimination, marginalisation and displacement, even more so after the Taliban came to power.

Lily Eversdijk-Smulders (1903–1994)
Afghanistan, 1957
Donated by Dr Lily Eversdijk-Smulders through Ms Ella Andriesse, As2006,Drg.30

Hazara boots

These leather boots have front tassels, upturned toes and iron-reinforced soles and heels. They were said to have been worn by a Hazara leader when he visited British soldiers occupying Kandahar during the second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80). The boots were worn over socks or boot liners. Iron elements on the soles prevent slipping on muddy terrain and afford a good grip in stirrups when riding.

Kandahar, Afghanistan, 1870s
Donated by Sir Oliver St John, As,+.1667.a–b

Rug with vase and building

This rug depicts a building with two minarets reminiscent of the Great Mosque in Herat. The v-shaped pattern above it resembles ram horns, which in Turkmen culture are symbols of prosperity and protection against evil spirits. Lower down is a vase surrounded by lions, flowers and military vehicles. The floral vase with symmetrical paired lions is often found in Baluch rugs and picks on decorative patterns of lions and trees of life in paintings, carpets and architecture popular in Iran, India and Central Asia.

Afghanistan, 1980–2000
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.10

Triangular amulets

Triangular embroidered amulets, tumar, with beaded tassels are found in many parts of Central Asia. Qur'anic inscriptions or prayers are often tucked inside. Intended to ward away evil forces, they are pinned to children's clothing, animal harnesses, doorways and on weavers' looms.

Ersari Turkmen, Afghanistan, 1960s
As2003,03.7–8

Turkmen, Tajik and Uzbek

Groups of Turkmen, Uzbek and Tajik have lived in Afghanistan for centuries. Their traditionally nomadic lifestyle was curtailed by the establishment of modern borders in 1900–30. Many arrived in the late 1800s, fleeing Russian expansion across Central Asia. Others were driven out of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the 1920s when their ancestral lands were collectivised under the Soviet regime. Most have settled in the north and west of Afghanistan.

Decorated goat's skull

This goat's skull is covered with embellished fabric and would have hung as a talisman at the entrance of a yurt or house. In Central Asia, horned animals such as rams and goats embody status and wealth. The power associated with horns and antlers extends to guarding against evil. Ram and goat horns also protect the souls of the dead and are often placed on gravestones.

Yomut Turkmen, Turkmenistan, 1900s
2008,6025.23

Rug with arched building

Rows of tanks frame the central motifs of vases with flowers and teapots. Teapots and water ewers were often included in Central Asian embroideries to represent hospitality and generosity. While the colours are typical of traditional Baluch rugs, the floral vases recall ikat patterns on Uzbek and Tajik textiles. The arched building on top is a stylised representation of the Blue Mosque at Mazar-e-Sharif.

Afghanistan, 1980–2000
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.15

The Baluch

The Baluch are nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralist tribes whose ancestral lands cross the borders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan they are mostly found in the south and south-west in Hilmand (Helmand) and Faryab provinces with some pockets near Herat. Fiercely independent, the Baluch reject assimilation and preserve their historic tribal structure and practices. Their land is communally owned, so all tribal members have access to resources.

Baluch quail calls

Bird contests – including fights, singing competitions and beauty pageants – were popular in Afghanistan, often accompanied by betting before it was banned under the Taliban. Quails were lured and captured by blowing into whistles like these and tapping on the stretched membrane to imitate their call. Quail calls are intricately carved and often inlaid with semi-precious stones, glass, mother-of-pearl or glazed pottery. Here the ridges are decorated with rams, symbols of strength and virility in Baluch culture.

Herat province, Afghanistan, 1960s–1970s
As1978,06.78-79a

Hamid Karzai and the coalition

Afghanistan continued to be unstable after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. In 1996 the Taliban, a puritanical Islamic group led by a former Mujahideen commander, took control of most of the country. A small area in the north was held by oppositional groups of Mujahideen known as the Northern Alliance.

On 11 September 2001 al-Qaeda attacked the United States. When the Taliban refused to extradite al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden, an international coalition including the US and UK invaded Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai was appointed as interim leader, and later elected as President, serving from 2002 to 2014. His successor Ashraf Ghani was President from 2014 to 2021.

Medal and visiting card

This medal was struck in the United States to mark Karzai's election as President of the Republic of Afghanistan in 2002. The visiting card bears the Afghan national emblem from this period, including parts of the shahada, the Islamic profession of faith, and the Paghman Taq-e-Zafar victory arch (built to commemorate Afghan independence in 1919) with a mihrab (niche for prayer) and minbar, or pulpit, underneath.

Medal, Amanullah Haiderzad (b.1939)
USA, 2002
2008,4136.2

Visiting card
Afghanistan, 2011
Donated by Hamid Karzai, EPH-ME.550

Picture caption:
Hamid Karzai in Berlin, June 2011
Aris/Süddeutsche Zeitung Photo, Alamy Stock Photo

Hamid Karzai's chapan

This traditional chapan belonged to Hamid Karzai. Worn loosely over the shoulders, chapans were part of his official attire, and recognisable wherever he went. They are a traditional item of men's formal dress in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. According to the longstanding concept of khil'a, rulers bestowed robes of honour by removing a cloak from their back and placing it on the favoured person's shoulders.

Afghanistan, 2010–14
Donated by Hamid Karzai, 2015,6014.1

Souvenirs and Western demand

Early war rugs were bought by soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, and by humanitarian workers, journalists and diplomats passing through Kabul and Peshawar, near the border in Pakistan. Presented in Western art galleries as examples of tribal art and contemporary art, they acquired a symbolic value that was probably not originally intended.

Two main markets developed, aimed mostly at foreigners: small pieces that could be rolled into a soldier's backpack, and larger, more complex rugs for international collectors. Traders and workshop owners began to direct production, providing a variety of templated designs. War rugs are often criticised as inauthentic and manufactured under exploitative conditions. Nevertheless, they have provided Afghan weavers with a source of income in dire times.

Tourist map of Afghanistan

Afghanistan was an appealing tourist destination for westerners in the 1960s and 1970s, part of the 'Hippie Trail' leading on to South and Southeast Asia. This map, produced by the Afghan Ministry of Tourism, was given to visitors in the decades before the Soviet invasion. Major sites, craft traditions and regional specialties are highlighted.

Kabul, Afghanistan, 1960s–70s
ME-maps, Afghanistan 5

Exit rug

After initial advances, the Soviet invasion turned into a stalemate. Soviet troops occupied the major cities, while the Mujahideen controlled the countryside. Unable to make further gains, the Soviet army withdrew between May 1988 and February 1989. This rug depicts their retreat from Afghanistan with armoured vehicles and helicopters heading north while under fire. The flowering shrub, a traditional symbol of happiness and well-being, may express joy at the Soviet withdrawal. The flowers may also allude to opium poppies, which were grown to finance the war effort. The Taliban banned poppy cultivation in 2022.

Afghanistan, 1990–2000
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.24

Coalition rug

British and American flags are shown alongside the December 2001 airstrike on the Tora Bora caves, believed to be Osama bin Laden's base. The al-Qaeda leader fled to Pakistan, where he was killed in 2011. Coalition troops remained in Afghanistan until summer 2021. After their withdrawal, the Taliban regained control of Kabul, leaving thousands of Afghans desperately trying to flee.

Afghanistan, 2002
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.27

Men's cap

The pakol is a woollen cap worn in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Popularised by the Mujahideen and Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massud, it gradually replaced the turban among Pashtun men. Usually white, grey or brown, it can be rolled down to cover the ears and neck in cold weather. On festive occasions, flowers or feathers are tucked into its rim. It was a favourite souvenir for soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

Pakistan or Afghanistan, 2000–10
Donated by Dr St John Simpson, 2011,6036.1

The Pashtun

The Pashtun are one of the largest ethnic groups in Afghanistan with about sixty tribes, mostly in north-west Pakistan and south and east Afghanistan. They are Sunni Muslims, sharing a common language and social code. Many Mujahideen were Pashtun, as were the Afghan royal family and politicians such as Karzai and Ghani. The cities of Jalalabad, Kandahar and Lashkar Gah are centres for Pashtun culture and have large Pashtun populations.

Mat and coaster

Displaced women, as well as men and children, found employment in weaving workshops to help provide for their families. Small, easy-to-use pieces such as mats and coasters, often made by children, became popular souvenirs for coalition soldiers. Their iconography is much less refined than earlier rugs, with simple graphic representations of guns, grenades and helicopters.

Afghanistan, 2000–10
Donated by Graham Gower, 2010,6013.30 and 39

Miniature chadari

Westerners saw the chadari or burqa as a sign of the Taliban's repression of women. Refusing to wear it risked brutal punishment or even death. Yet the chadari had been worn as a sign of respectability and social status for at least two centuries. Soldiers brought back miniature chadaris as dolls' clothing for their daughters, or to cover wine or beer bottles.

Afghanistan, 1960–80 
As1986,Q.57

Afghan war rugs today

Afghan war rugs are still produced for a Western market. Most follow templates supplied by rug dealers, often based in the US. Recent examples depict images of poppy fields, drones, unexploded ordnance and the fall of Kabul in 2021. In 2023, Pakistan ruled to deport the reportedly more than 1.4 million undocumented Afghan refugees. Many weavers returned to Afghanistan, in spite of the risks of living under the Taliban, and continue weaving on commission.