Antique Afghan | 276 x 185 cm | Nr. Z-3110

Antique Afghan, rust red with border and diamonds

Origin	Afghan
Dimensions	276 cm x 185 cm (= 5.106 m²)
Construction	hand-knotted
Material	Pile: wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Weft & Warp: wool
knots per m²2	240.000
Pile height	5mm
Year of manufacture	1920
Colour	Rust red, 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 being made today. This antique Afghan is a collector's piece. It is around 100 years old, and that alone makes it something really special. Antique rugs like this Afghan are as sought after as ever and fetch top prices at renowned auction houses.

Pattern

The decorated surround (border) forms a wonderful contrast to the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

In the pattern of this Afghan it is above all the diamonds that stand out. A diamond is a rhombus standing on one of its points, and in an Oriental rug its four equal sides can be serrated, stepped or set with hooks. The diamond is one of the oldest basic forms in the Oriental rug. In the Islamic world it carries a symbolic meaning: it stands for the immortality of the soul. That is why it is found so often as a filler motif.

The background of this Afghan is light red. Rust red and light red also dominate the overall impression. The border is worked in rust red, light red and black.

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Afghan. It has had owners before you who valued it and used it. The pile is worn in places. The edges are damaged in places. It was hand-knotted around 1920. We have cleaned it thoroughly and restored it with great care. Despite its age, it is therefore 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.