War rug. Colored wools. Afghanistan, ca. 1980.
Afghan war rugs are hand-woven carpets that, starting in the late 1970s, began incorporating war imagery such as weapons, military vehicles, and symbols of conflict. This art form emerged in response to the 1979 Soviet invasion and evolved over time to reflect the country's ongoing political and social turmoil. Early examples, often produced by Baloch women, combined traditional motifs with depictions of machine guns, helicopters, and tanks, transforming the rugs into visual testaments to the war. Over the years, the designs have adapted to include subsequent events, such as the September 11 attacks and the use of drones, reflecting the evolving conflict. Although initially intended for the local market, these rugs have attracted international attention, becoming collector's items and symbols of Afghan cultural resilience. Today, war rugs represent a unique form of artistic expression that documents decades of war and the Afghan people's ability to transform suffering into art.
Here, we offer an example from the first production, made in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Woven entirely by hand using wool dyed with plant pigments. The warp threads are also wool, not cotton as in later productions. The decorative motifs include elements such as airplanes, tanks, helicopters, machine guns, ground vehicles, and grenades, all strongly patterned to form a dense grid of elements, with a highly expressive formal value.

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