Old Afghan | 130 x 94 cm | Nr. Z-3432

Geometric old Afghan, dark brown with border

Origin	Afghanistan
Dimensions	130 cm x 94 cm (= 1.222 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	90.000
Pile height	6mm
Year of manufacture	1940
Colour	Dark brown, light red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Rugs made in Afghanistan – known as Afghan rugs, or simply Afghans – are unmistakable. In Afghanistan's cultural melting pot, Baluch, Turkmen, Kazakh and Uzbek weavers came together, each bringing influences from their homelands. During the 19th century, Turkoman tribes settled villages in Afghanistan, which brought Turkoman weaving styles into the region. The designs of the various tribal groups – among them Esari, Salor, Tekke and Yomut – are wonderfully varied. What holds them together stylistically is the use of intricate elephant's foot motifs (known as guls), lively reds, decorative bands and ornamental end panels.

Tribal weavers used natural dyes to create an enormous range of reds, from deep aubergine brown to warm burnt orange. These glowing colours are traditionally combined with clear blues and ivory accents. While the tribes of Afghanistan frequently use guls and serrated stars, it is in the decorative borders and end panels that weavers have traditionally worked a little of themselves and their culture into the design. The same is true of the decorative rugs from Bukhara, where all-over gul motifs are widespread.

The gul is a versatile motif, used as a medallion or for repeating patterns. It can be set against a monochrome field or linked into a striking tile pattern. The rich colours and bold design of antique Afghan rugs make them spectacular statement pieces that complement a wide variety of interior styles perfectly.

Because of the political situation in Afghanistan, only a few Afghan rugs are still made today. This old Afghan is around 80 years old and a real collector's favourite.

Pattern

The edge of the rug is framed by a surround (border). The border forms a splendid contrast to the centre.

The abstract, geometric composition is what gives this Afghan its understated elegance. The pattern flatters the way a room is laid out and never steals attention from the furniture, the decor or the architectural details. It settles beautifully into any setting and subtly rounds out a room's furnishings.

The background of this Afghan is dark brown. The border is worked in dark brown, light red and dark blue.

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Afghan. It has had owners before you who valued and used it. In a few places you can see some white threads. That is quite normal with older rugs. These are the knot ends of the weft and warp weave, which work their way to the surface over the years. In substance that is not a major problem. It was hand-knotted around 1940. We have cleaned it thoroughly and lovingly restored it. It is therefore – despite its age – in very good condition.

Material

The technique used to make the materials for this Afghan's pile is more than 200 years old. The wool was dyed with natural colours and spun by hand. Dyeing with natural or plant-based colours is more complicated, more expensive and more time-consuming than dyeing with chemical dyes. For a luminous red, for example, you need around one kilo of ground madder root as a dyestuff per kilo of wool. For a strong yellow that isn't too pale, you even need two kilograms of weld per kilo of wool. Spinning the wool is just as time-consuming and labour-intensive. And fewer and fewer people still know how to spin wool by hand.

But the effort is worth it: dyeing with natural colours lets the high-quality wool keep its natural lanolin content. Wool that has been dyed with natural colours and spun by hand creates fascinating, shifting patterns. The charm of hand-spun wool, with its slight irregularities and natural shades, unfolds as a contrast in modern interiors, but equally in rooms furnished in a more traditional or country style. The foundation (weft and warp threads) of this Afghan is made of new wool.