The terms Baluch and war rug are generalizations 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.[citation needed]
Since the withdrawal of the USSR, the same themes and subjects have been reused and remade. Additionally, after 9/11 the events of that day were recorded in carpets, and more recently – since 2015 – drones have appeared as subject matter.[1][2]
Literature
Jürgen Wasim Frembgen and Hans Werner Mohm: Lebensbaum und Kalaschnikow. Krieg und Frieden im Spiegel afghanischer Bildteppiche, Gollenstein Verlag (publishers), Blieskastel (in Germany), 2000, ISBN 978-3933389312. (This is the first known serious and detailed study of any substance in the field of the so-called "War Rugs" from Afghanistan.[3])
Enrico Mascelloni: War Rugs: The Nightmare of Modernism, Skira, 2009, ISBN 978-8861308664.
Till Passow & Thomas Wild (ed.): Knotted Memories: War in Afghan Rug Art, Catalogue to accompany the exhibition featuring selected pieces from Till Passow's collection of Afghan war rugs, 27 February – 20 March 2015 (German and English), Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-00-048784-2.[4]
Kevin Sudeith; War Rugs Volume One:Pictorial, ISBN 978-0-9974233-1-0 Mosques, monuments, minarets, and modern cities in war rugs from 1981 through 2010. This book demonstrates how some war rugs grew out of the long tradition of landscape pictorial rugs as well as the way contemporary weavers combined ancient religious and martial architectural structures with the most high tech imagery.
References
^Bizzarri, Cosimo. "Afghan carpet weavers are putting drones on their rugs". Quartz. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^Raghavan, Sudarsan. "Analysis | Afghanistan's famed war carpets are getting a makeover – once again". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
^Rugs of war bibliography
^Press Release: Knotted Memories. War in Afghan rug art (PDF 6.44MB).
External links
Muldowney, Decca (27 June 2022). "The legal war over Afghan war rugs". The Verge.
War Rug Styles War rug database by Kevin Sudeith. Started in 1998 this is the most comprehensive index of war rugs available.
Rug-of-War by Mimi Kirk, Smithsonian, 4 February 2008
Traditional Afghan patterns and war rugs Traditional Afghan rug patterns relationship to war rugs.