Afghanistan was the first area that I studied and when I sold rugs it was much of what I sold. But over time I moved on in my studies and much of my early work was lost or set aside. Now I am attempting to reconstruct my earlier work and pull things together while expanding and correcting as I go along. I will use this page to group and sort and as each section comes together I will split them off into their own subject area guide. So forgive my mess while I put it together.

Afghan Rugs: Maliki Rugs of Afghanistan

Mushwani Bags and Rugs

The Mushwani Bags and Rugs are produced in Western Afghanistan south of Herat along the Adraskand river near the town of Shindand'

Guide to Mashwani Rugs and Bags

Afghan Rugs: Mushwani Baluch Dowry Piece

Pashtun Sleeping Rugs

Odd rugs of which there are few. Maybe a dozen at most have turned up in the last 20 years and as far as I know they all passed through Tom Cole's hands. Doubtless he could tell us more and will when he is ready. My personal theory is that they are related to 2500 year old Tocharian sleeping rugs found in the Tarim Basin area of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Red China (People's Republic of China). Further I suggest that a remnant of the Tocharian people are now in the polyglot that we know as Pashtun. The line of descent would roughly be Tocharian to Wu Chi to Gandaharan to Pashtun. Now that leaves out a lot but takes in the high points. It also accounts for the Tocahian traits scattered though the Pashtun people.

Afghan Rugs: Neo-Tocharian Pashtun Slip Loop Sleeping Rug

Afghan Rugs: Pashtun Sleeping Rug

Guide to Hazara Rugs

In the mid 1990s I wrote an article called the The Hazara A Historical Examination Of The Probable Origins Of An Improbable People. It helps put these rugs in context.

Timuri Rugs

A while back I wrote the Guide to Timuri Rugs. It is not bad but as I go along I will expand it and polish it up a bit.

Rippon-Boswell Timuri Yaqub Khani main Carpet mid 19th C. lot 4

The Kizil Ajak were a sub or component tribe of the Ersari. I have been working on a theory for several years about the Ersari and where they fit into the Turkmen Hierarchy. With the help of a friend I have finally come to the conclusion that Ersari and Azeri are different spellings of the same world. That as such the Ersari is the direct political heirs of the Oghuz Turks or that actually the Ersari are the Oghuz or Azeri as I have theorized. The Turkmen who came out of Central Asia into Persia and the Ottoman Empire were Oghuz and now their descendents speak a dialect of Northern or Southern Azeri.

The Kizil Ajak are considered to be one of the identifiable component tribes of the old Ersari Confederation. The Kizil Ajak are one of the Turkmen tribes in Northern Afghanistan that was south of the Russian market influence in the 19th century and consequently have a distinctly different look.

The knot is an asymmetrical knot open to the right with a ribbed back and a knot count of under 130 (8 by 7).

Khal Mohammadi Rugs

Khal Mohammad and his son Ibrahim at the Berlin Zoo

Van-Ham Ersari-Engsi. Taghan Purdah from the Taghan Labijar Um 1900

Afghan Ensi/Purdah

Afghan Rugs: Qala-i Zal Late 20th C. Ersari Turkmen with Overlay Brocade Skirts

The Russian invasion fundamentally changed the nature of Afghan rugs and I mean in a more substantial way than just war rugs. The old economic system passed on farmers supporting village craftsmen became increasingly unable to handle the needs of the people as the war made the economic systen disintegrate. To cope with this millions of Afghans fled into neighboring countries particularly Pakistan and then Iran. Obviously the refugees were not going north into Communist occupied land.

In Pakistan the money poured in and the people were settled in camps once the ability ogf the villages to absorb refugees was saturated.

The James D. Manning Afghan Kazak

1' 8" x 1' 8" Afghan Oriental Rug

2 foot 11 by 2 foot 1 inch Afghan Kazak Rug

3 by 5 Afghan Kazak Rug

Large Afghan Veg Dye Carpet

The Taimani people date back to the IL Khanid dynasty era of Iran. In a fight over succession, status, and power the 4 branches of the Mongol people went to war.from them by the IL Khanid Mongols. The Taimani were of the Golden Horde and they became trapped in afghanistan after they were seperated from them by the IL Khanid Mongols. They were welcomed in to the Herat area by the Khan of the Chagatai Mongols who allowed them to stay.

1990s Chahar Aymaq Prayer Rug

Veggie Dyed Afghan Kazak 7

Late 20th C. Ersari Turkmen with Overlay Brocade Skirts

6 by 4 foot Chahar Aymaq Rug 1

New Afghan Production Flower Repeat

6 by 4 foot Chahar Aymaq Rug 2

6 by 4 foot Chahar Aymaq Rug 3

Ersari Bridal Trapping

3' 4"by 4' 4" Veg Dyed Turkmen

A Very Odd Kizil Ajak Turkmen Rug

6' 6"by 3' 4" New Turkmen

New Turkmen (?) rug

Dohktar-i-Ghazi Prayer Rug

6 by 4 foot Chahar Aymaq Rug 3

6 by 5 Veg Dyed Kazak Style Afghan Rug

1990s Afghan Sumac Rug

Uzbek Sar-i-Pul Bag

Antique Uzbek Okbash

The Thompson Julkhyr

Ersari Sullayman Main Carpet

Mazar-i-sharif Chub Bash Carpet

Charshangho Ersari Turkmen Rug Andkhoy Region Circa 1990

Andkhoy Turkmen rug Circa 1995

The Master Spy Escapes c. 1562 - 1577

1' 8" x 1' 8" Afghan Oriental Rug

Interesting Books & Articles On Turkmen Rugs

Lion and Peacock Rug 632

Floral Tree War Rug UKN50

Notes on Bamiyan

Notes on the Burqa

Rug Notes Index - P Oriental rugs and carpets by Barry O'Connell,Spongobongo.com

Early 20th C. Kizil Ajak Rug Guide To Ersari Rugs

What was the Silk Route?

Rug Notes Index - K Oriental rugs and carpets by Barry O'Connell,Spongobongo.com

Notes on the Kizilbash

The James D. Manning Afghan Kazak

Afghan Rugs: Maliki Rugs of Afghanistan

Andkhoi (population 28,000), in the heart of Turkoman country, is a collection center of qaraqul and many types of Turkoman rugs. Saruq, Qara Tekke and Sulaiman are only a few of the important Turkoman tribal rugs to be found in the rug serais of Andkhoi. Nancy Hatch Dupree. An Historical Guide To Afghanistan. Chapter21

A Life Size Portrait of Sultan Murad III r1574-1595

Visit my Guide to Turkish Rugs & Carpets by Oriental Rug Notes by Barry O'Connell, Spongobongoo.com

Notes on Oriental Rugs and Persian Rugs by Barry O'Connell