NFS Dark Blue Field Reaper Drone War Rug

Also for sale is this beautifully woven drone rug from 2015, Warrug has seen many variations of this style over the years.
Reaper Drone War Rug Folded

It’s dynamic pattern and color schemes add complexity to this rug while maintaining a balance. Red white and blue coloration, coupled with the red, white, and blue border ads complexity to this rug.

Drone War Rug
It is Size 36 x 24 inches (92 X61 cm) using hand spun wool.

Blue Elephant Foot Bokara Drone War Rug

This rug is woven of excellent, hand-spun wool and features vegetable dye colors. The rug employs a classic Bokara or Elephants Foot design (like this antique non-war rug), but rather than traditional tribal emblems this rug uses a major and minor guls made from drones.

Bokara or Elephants Foot Design Rug

The size is Size 78 x 117 inches (198 X297 cm) and it can be purchased on warrug.com after clicking on Drone War Rugs.

1980’s Old Baghlani War Rug with Three Small Borders

Baghlani rugs, Turkmen rugs from north eastern Afghanistan originated in the late 1980’s and were woven through the mid 1990’s. Generally, Baghlani rugs are long and narrow, so this rugs squarish proportions are unusual. This example features blue, orange and marroon patterns with boats, jets and tanks balanced with flowers and rifles. The border is made up of multiple geometric guard stripes. This color scheme, and the Rows of Weapons design are emblematic of the Baghlani type.
1980's Old Baghlani War Rug with Three Small Borders

1980’s Poppy Design Ali Kwaja with Airplane Guard Stripes Price on request

The contrasting blue skirt of this 1980’s rug offsets the mostly red color design which draws inspiration from Ali Kwaja which means, roughly, gentleman. Extensive research suggests Ali Kwaja rugs are Beshir Turkmen. Supposedly, they moved across the border into Afghanistan after the Bolshevik revolution consumed the USSR. This one is for sale.

1980's Poppy Design Rug Possibly, this rug was intended as a prayer rug, for notice the top two panels are separated from the lower panels by a white border stripe. The lower two panels are separated by an airplane border.

1980's Poppy rug
Pomegranates are a classic image in Afghan rugs. In pre-Islamic Persia and Afghanistan, pomegranate represented the soul to Zoroastrians. The Quran says pomegranates will be found in Paradise.

UXO Rugs Woven in Afghanistan

The UXO, a.k.a. Unexploded Ordnance, rugs were all woven in Afghanistan between 2002 and August 2021 and given the sanctions / embargo, there will be no more for the foreseeable future
UXO Rug RedUXO Rug Blue

They are inspired by older UXO rugs like the UXO warning rug and the Weapon Inventory War Rug. The new UXO rugs came in two sizes (5×8 feet or 1.5M x 2.5M and 6’6″x12’6″ or 2x4M) and made out of the “Chobi” wool is high quality wool, minimally processed then spun by hand.

Life sized UXO The rugs feaature life sized UXO.

UXO Rugs, a.k.a Unexploded Ordnance

UXO stands for Unexploded Ordnance there are a number of examples on the site some older like the Unexploded Ordinance Warning Rug  and some which are still for sale and newer. Check out the Turkmen and Uzbek War Rug with Light Fields. Turkmen and Uzbek War Rug with Light Fields

Sometimes these rugs come with a message like the UXO warning rug which says “do not touch or play with, these are very dangerous” in both Farsi and Pashto, the “unexploded” element creating a lasting impression of suspense.

The Turkmen and Uzbek UXO rug is done in the “Chobi” or “Vegetal Dye Peshawar” style with Turkmen borders. It is exceptionally beautiful.

UXO Turkmen/Uzbek rug

Warp Depression a.k.a. “Double Knotted” rugs

The most confounding concept in rugs is “warp depression”, so I created a structures page with a bunch of annotated photos to explain it and give suggestions.

Before a rug is woven the warps are strung on the loom, and the warps can be made to lay in one plane, side by side. But warps can also sit on two planes where they alternate. Here is a rough diagram.

This post began in 2017 when I saw this cut rug revealing warps on two planes.





Here are some examples:

No warp depression:

Rug 779 Herat Friday Mosque with Armored Column

Minimal warp depression, offset by 20-30 degrees:

Rug #464 Bright Color Landscape Rug

Moderate warp depression, offset by 45-60 degrees, corduroy texture

Rug #925 Baleschet Saddle Bag with Motorcycle

Also, medium warp depression, offset by 45-60 degrees, with pronounced corduroy texture

Rug #1614 Classic White Background Amman Ullah Khan Rug

Full warp depression, a.k.a. “double knotted”, where the second warp is buried in the rug’s foundation:

Rug #1105: B-52 Medallions with Cluster Bombs and MRE’s

If this post clarifies warp depression, or if it just raises more questions, please let me know.

19th Century Daghestani Prayer Rug for Sale

This is not the focus of Warrug.com, but twenty years ago we picked up this rug, and now it is time to downsize.

The details are in the link: Rug #2122, Antique Daghestan Prayer Rug. The price is $3,500, so contact us if you are interested in purchase, and we will send a PayPal invoice.


The design of this rug is not typical of the type, and the pattern conveys a special sensibility. The figure, represented by the pattern inside the mihrab, is the same as the world, represented by the same lattice pattern outside the mihrab. The part that is different is where the prayers go up from the figure, and the lattice breaks down to series of small dreamy motifs.