Taimani Long Pile Primitive Rug

Taimani bedding rug from Central Afghanistan probably Ghowr Province. This rug from Peter and Wivine Winch displays a combination of all the common motifs used in these two piece primitive tribal rugs. The pile is always long with the rugs usually being square once the two halves are sewn together, although some variations exist including one known example which is 4.6 metres - 14 feet long.

Postak nomad pelt rugs

Pelt rug "Postak" on nomad tent Afghanistan. Postak are created by sewing various pieces of animal hide together. Mostly the hides of sheep are used although Postak can be made from goat pelts or possibly even Bear skin, see the post on Kirghiz skin rugs below.

Skin Rugs in Afghanistan

Skin rugs on floor Afghanistan.
Image from the Afghanistan Digital Library http://afghanistandl.nyu.edu/
A useful resource for researchers and historians.
Afghanistan’s legacy of publishing is in clear danger of disappearing. The earliest publications appearing in Afghanistan are extremely rare and, judging by their absence from library collections around the world, are to be found now almost exclusively in private collections, where public access is limited or non-existent. Decades of war in Afghanistan have further dispersed and destroyed holdings of books within the country itself.

Encyclopædia Iranica | Articles

Encyclopædia Iranica | Articles

Nomad tents in Central Asia
"A portable dwelling characteristic of certain nomad groups. It consists of a canopy of cloth or skin supported by upright posts and anchored to the ground by means of pegs and ropes.

The most common type of tent in Iran and Afghani­stan is the “black tent” (constructed of bands of woven goat hair stitched together), which is known from Mauritania to India."

Encyclopædia Iranica | Articles

Encyclopædia Iranica | Articles
Nomad tents In Iran including images by Nasrollah Kasraian.
Both of the basic tent types used by nomads elsewhere in the Middle East are present in Iran and Afghanistan: the black, goat-hair tent and the felt tent. Apart from these, tents made from vegetable fiber are used extensively in Kerman and Baluchistan.

Bachtiari Nomads

Nomad kurdish rug Northwest Persia last quarter 20th Century. Kurdish nomads wove "Badani" long pile rugs as did the Bachtiari making the long and difficult trek through the Zagros mountains to reach summer pastures.

Darya Uzbek

Orientgalerie Reto Christoffel in Steinmaur Switzerland have a "Darya" Uzbek rug in store. A related post on primitiverug.com discussed the vertical or horizontal proportions of the "Kuchkorak". The "Darya" Uzbek rug at Orientgalerie Reto Christoffel shows the Kuchkorak rendered wider horizontally than vertically.







Vertical proportion for Kuchkorak

Flying Carpets

 Taimani RugSimon Cook of Flying Carpets has an interest in long piled rugs and recently contacted us at Primitive Rug. This week Simon posted some interesting images of long piled rugs on his website including a Taimani one piece bedding rug from Central Afghanistan. The Taimani is a Primitive styled rug with an archaic and simple design. Sometimes referred to as "bedding rugs" or "sleeping rugs" these rugs had multiple uses in a nomad environment. Uses included keeping warm and for seating on the ground.

POSTAK Skin Covers

More on the use of animal hides in Afghanistan as covers. An article by Thierry Girard discusses who the possible creators of these Postak and Pashtun covers were.
The image is of a skin rug stitched together like the rugs in the previous two posts. This rug does not have "dip-dyed" strips of hide and the colours are all natural. The previous two rugs would have been created using some hide strips with white wool - the strips of hide were immersed in the appropriate coloured dye prior to being stitched together to form the design of the rug.

Afghan Pamirs

While researching a new article on Kirghiz Pieced Skin Rugs I came across a number of sites with amazing images of the landscape, wildlife and current inhabitants including the remaining Kirghiz Nomads and Wakhi.

Check out the Wakhan Corridor photos by Photographer Matthieu Paley and the images of John Winnie Jnr, both recent travelers in the Wakhan and fresh insights into recent events.

Attached is another Kirghiz Pieced Skin Rug probably from the Kirghiz of the Wakhan Corridor, last qtr 19th century.

Primitive Blog Posts

There are many facets to writing and researching blog posts for the Primitive Rug website
primitiverug.com. Primitive Rug provides a platform for sharing information about the nomadic weavings of Nomads from Central Asia to Morocco. Not forgetting European folk rugs and the shaggy Rya rugs from Scandanavia.

Each week many interesting articles, photos, and websites surface not to mention the stories people share behind the scenes. We'll post here with related info and news as it happens.

This week Karl-Heinz Breuss contacted us and shared his experience and images of his comprehensive shaggy nomad rug collection. Karl has amassed a large library of images with reference to the provenance of each rug. As a resource on shaggy nomad rugs this wealth of experience is invaluable.
The image of Karl's Kirghiz Skin Rug has previously been published in the book by  DIENES, GERHARD M. & REINISCH, HELMUT, 2001 und 1e Nacht. Teppiche und Textilien aus Privatsammlungen. (Exhibition at Graz Municipal Museum). Graz 2001
The central panel of this rug is possibly the softened hide of a Himalayan Brown Bear Ursus Arctus Isabellinus.