Here is an example of an exciting subgenre that is sure to be a conversation piece at your next cocktail party. Or after-bowling get-together. The Afghan War Rug is a modern reinterpretation of an age-old art. Where the regular oriental carpet has an abstract design, these rugs are figurative, including tanks, guns and other weapons, and usually show a map of Afghanistan. They also deal with a very specific subject matter y– the troubled recent history of Afghanistan.
Some of the lettering is in Latin script, the top text is in Farsi, apparently reading o“The army of al-Qaeda is leaving Afghanistan ”. According to the website www.warrug.com, which specialises in selling modern carpetry of this type, this rug f“is a transitional piece between the Soviet story rugs and the War on Terrorism rugs (x…) Until the US eliminated the Taliban regime, this style of rug was woven by refugees in Pakistan. After we drove al-Qaeda and the Taliban back to the age of the Cave Man, these weavers were able to return to their native homes and produce these rugs around Mazar Ie’Sharif and Sherberghan.-”
The war rug tradition of Afghanistan has its origins in the decade of Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979, and has continued through 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.
