The Beauty of Afghan Area Rugs

Hand-knotted Oriental area rugs have been around for many centuries; some of the first known area rugs were created as early as the 4th century, like the famed Pazyryk Persian rug, seen below.

The oldest carpet in the world, the Pazyryk rug

It is an artform that has gifted us with some of the most beautiful and intricate designs and motifs. Like all forms of art, rug weaving merges the worlds of the intangible imagination and the tangible textures of the chosen medium, in this case, sheep's wool. The wool used to create hand-knotted area rugs is sheered from the animal and then spun by hand into measures of yarn that will eventually be turned into a visual delight to adorn the floors of a space as grand as a ballroom or as personal as a family room. Persian-made rugs are known to be the pinnacle of hand-knotted rugs having perfected techniques and designs that are now copied by other rug weaving countries that add their own unique take on the carpets.

rug weaving - hand spun wool

This art of handwoven area rugs, which began in the small towns and villages on the outskirts of large cities where Oriental rugs originated, gave the nomadic peoples of these locales a means to earn a living with just their hands and some thread. These rug weaving tribes still exist, but in present day, Oriental rugs are also created within the big cities for large production houses of fine rugs that bring their own appeal of fresh designs for modern aesthetics.

Rug weaving

Area rugs made in Afghanistan are recognizable by their bold use of richly pigmented dyes, sometimes natural organic dyes, other times fixed dyes, but usually a blend of both, and always a thrill for the eyes, if you've been so lucky to see one in person.

4'11" x 6'10" Afghani Sina Area Rug

It is an industry where, at this time, mostly women weavers spin straw into gold -- or wool into art. These rugs are generally reproductions of antique area rugs with ornate motifs and a fine weave.