War Carpet Washing


The front and back of a rug should be the same color. One indication of some chemical washes is the front and back are different colors, as in this photo. On the back, the twisted ribbon design in the guard stripe (small border) is brown, but on the front it is red. That is a bad sign.

More info about Rug # 461 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

German washer's tag

More info about Rug # 0 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

A greatly admired dealer took a bunch of early and important war rugs that he could not sell and chemically washed them, all but ruining them. Each of these bleached rugs is a heartache.

This rug was probably typical Baluchi colors: dark blue, tan, reds, ochres. Ironically, people do like the bleached colors, but it kills the rugs value.

More info about Rug # 1426 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

Think if this rug was dark blue with a bunch of bright colors, it would be great. If you study the photos of this rug, you will see that the chemical wash also dries out the wool and damages the sheen.

More info about Rug # 2062 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

Here is the washer's tag that the highly esteemed Jackass used to wreck a bunch of important rugs. The Jackass dealer actually wanted *more* money for the washed rugs, no doubt because rug washing is expensive, particularly chemical washes.

More info about Rug # 2062 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

This is another very early, and potentially important, war rug. But Jackass #1 bleached it to give it the nice overall brown tone, but damaging the rug. It is a shame, but hopefully an illustrative example, of something.

More info about Rug # 2064 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

This rug, #1065 Washed Two Ewer Two Big Tank War Rug , got wet and was not dried out promptly, so the colors ran. It was given to an expert washer, Keljiks in Minneapolis at 612-823-6338, but the problem was not resolved. Previously Keljiks washed a Persian runner which ran badly after its owner's apartment flooded, and returned it as good as new.

Washing rugs the first time is when things can be tricky, so most rugs are washed before coming to market. Then they are blocked to make them square and flat again, but supposedly, sometimes Baluchi rugs from western Afghanistan are not washed when they are new, so American washers can be touchy about washing them.

More info about Rug # 1065 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch

This is, or would be, a super important rug, for it shows the ISI headquarters. The ISI is the PK secret service, and they supposedly played a large roll in the Afghan Soviet war. But a highly esteemed, but jackass European dealer, thought the rug would look better with a severe chemical wash. It is true, people like these earth tones, but it was a dumb move. Also, the washing seems to have

More info about Rug # 1101 here

BTW - Rug #0 does not exist, so if the link above says Rug #0, it resolves at the Styles Index Page. Sorry for the glitch