Condition: Excellent condition. New, full pile. The design of this rug is unusual. It is a variation on the 'Three Panel Sajada' style, but the meandering road which usually runs back and forth diagonally across rug in this case attractively runs straight up the middle. Also, in stead of a variety of plants and building scattered over the rug's field, this rug had two columns of well drawn planes and helicopters. Most notably though is the change in the top third of the rug. Usually this design has mountains at the top, but in this case the top has been clearly turned into a traditional Afghan mihrab of repeated minarets. It is both attractive, and clearly makes this a prayer rug. Missing from the design are the gates at the bottom.
The earliest example of this design is
Rug 1090. Another
early example is at the Textile Museum in Canada. Some later examples are
here,
here,
here, here, and
here (Plate 35 from Pictorial War Rug book.Wool: High quality wool. Each color has a unique texture. Blue has best sheen, and tan color had different texture, probably camel hair.
Sheen: Very good, well above normal for new Baluch rug.
Handle: Well bodied floppy
Selvedge: Goat hair overcast, not braided. One cord
Fringe: Brown plain weave, overhand knots, short fringe
Pile: 6mm Wool, high quality
Warp: Two tone wool: one strand light brown and one strand dark brown
Weft: Brown felt like - probably wool
