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Amman Ullah Khan War Rugs


ID#:1615,
Amanullah Khan War Rug with Orange Jacket
A red, brown, and light orange rug with unique turqouise accents depicting the Afghan king Amanullah Khan who ruled from 1919 - 1929. He poses in orange military garb flanked by potted flowers, text, and other symbols.
He is bordered by a chain of turquoise and red flowers on a light orange background, which is then bordered by blue and brown patterns with a thick red background.

ID#:1614,
1988 Amman Ullah Khan Rug
Rich, brightly colored 1988 rug featuring Amman Ullah Kahn posing in a bright orange and navy blue uniform. Red and orange birds perched are on flowers on each of his shoulders and on the bottom left side of the rug. Two jets, a rifle, and two four-legged animals sit in the bottom right corner of the composition. A row of navy blue birds borders the top and bottom edges of the image. Red, orange, and white flowers on a maroon background, typical of Mushwani rugs, border the image, the outer guard stripe is made up of red, white, and orange flowers on a dark navy blue background. The three areas are separated by thin blue and red lines.

The overall condition is good, but there is minor moth damage in a few places:
Several small areas (smaller than a dime) of moth damage throughout the rug, quarter sized spot on the top right corner.

ID#:1421,
Green Amman Ullah Khan Rug
Green field symbolizes and honors AUK. This is one of the 2 or 3 best examples of AUK war rugs.
Amman Ullah Khan is shown in red military garb posing with his feet crossed and his right shoulder jutting out as is typical in these rugs. In the background sit 5 helicopters, two tanks, and a variety of flowers and small figures. Mountains grow behind his head against a red sky with black text.
The borders consist of three separate stripes of elaborate geometric and flowery designs.

ID#:1381,
Six Portraits of Amman Ullah Khan
This carpet was in excellent new condition, but it now has areas where leather juice has gottne stuck to the rug. Needs to be washed.
This rug features a classic Mushwani border and colors. /the repeating Amman Ullah Khan design is reminiscent of Persian Baluchi designs.

ID#:1309,
Suprised Amman Ullah Khan Rug With Feet Pointed Left
This Amman Ullah Khan Rug features a more excited expression. His feet aren't 'crossed' as in other rugs, and instead are both pointed towards the left. Helicopters and planes sit above his shoulders while tall flowers grow from the ground. Three layers of guard stripes containing flowers and lined geometric patterns frame the field. Bright green accents are found throughout the field.

ID#:1308,
Amman Ullah Khan Rug with Silk
A high quality very early antique Amman Ullah Kahn rug which is thought to be the progenitor to the other similar rugs featuring the same figure. Instead of war motifs, this rug features a menagerie of animals including camels, birds, and chickens. A bright silk neon blue stripe runs down the leg of the figure. Amman Ullah Khan' facial expression is much happier in this rug compared to the others.
The two equally-sized main borders are comprised of flowers and zig-zags in blue, orange, and tan (formerly bright orange) with bright emerald green accents. An elaborate fringe adds to the craft of the rug.

ID#:1307,
Aman Ullah Khan Rug with Striped Background
This Aman Ullah Khan rug features no war motifs, perhaps dating it before the 1980's. The figure is also relatively well proportioned compared to newer rugs.
There are a few small spots of moth damage (less than dime sized) at the bottom of the rug.

ID#:1305,
Dark Blue Amman Ullah Khan Rug
This dark blue, orange, and burgundy Amman Ullah Khan Rug features imagery of Zebu (humped) cattle (or goats?), birds, fighter jets, rifles, and flowers. The colors are vibrant and rich, and the figures are well defined.

ID#:1304,
Green Field Amman Ullah Khan Rug
The figure on this Aman Ullah Khan rug is relatively well proportioned compared to later versions of this rug. His bright orange jacket stands out from the olive green field. Handguns, helicopters, tanks, and other war motifs sit on the ground below him. Bright white text is visible at the top of the field while a classic flowery border encompases the rug.

ID#:1141,
1950's Aman Ullah Khan Rug with Falcons
This is an older Aman Ullah Khan rug, the figure is extremely well proportioned relative to the newer versions of this style. His face has a gentle expression and his shoes are extremely shiny. A bright orange streak traces the side of his head. Text appears in the upper corners.
Around 2000 Warrug acquired an entire collection of Amman Ullah Khan rugs from Afghanistan of which this rug was a high point, despite its condition. The classic Mushwani colors and border are indicative of the tribe who wove the rug.

Notably there are two large falcons at the bottom of the rug. "The Sport of Kings", falconry is a fitting thing to depict on such a rug. Marled blues appear next to the birds' feet.
Unfortunately there have been some repairs to the rug, mostly in the top near and in the figure's face.

The combination of the honored king with the falcons is highly unusual in either political portrait rugs, King rugs/a>, or Amman Ullah Khan (AUK) rugs.

ID#:1072,
Red Amman Ullah Khan War Rug
Price on request

This red Amman Ullah Khan rug shows the figure wearing a navy blue and orange military uniform and holding a yellow cane. Filling in the negative space around the figure are jets, flowers, plants, camels, and some sort of small animal.
There are four similarly sized borders each with their own pattern of geometric shapes.

ID#:962,
Early Amman Ullah Khan Rug

ID#:463,
Amman Ullah Kahn War Rug
This is a superb war rug from 1988. This is the image of King Amman Ullah Kahn. He is a highly celebrated army leader who was responsible for freeing Afghanistan. He became a favorite among artists to weave for many reasons. So much so that they were rare and difficult to come by, as many weavers kept them for their homes and seldom sold them for fear of punishment by the Taliban.
He was the King of Afghanistan from 1919-1929. It was during his reign that Afghanistan separated from the British Empire, formed relations with the Soviet Union, and successfully began and sustained good diplomatic relations with much of the world. However, it would be this very Soviet-Afghan relationship during the Bolshevik- era that soon became its countries demise. Any history buff would be pleased to acquire this rug, and even non-trivia speaking war rug collectors can sound like geniuses as they display the rug and discuss the irony that the former Soviet Union helped Afghanistan with military support to fight the British during his reign, only for the US to give military support to Afghanistan to later fight the Soviets, and, of course, the Taliban and Al Queada then used that military support to fight the Americans, British and Russians.
It should be said that had King Amman Ullah Kahn fully put into power his reformations, almost all of the things that plight Afghanistan today may never have existed. He stood for banks, taxes, freedom of dress, education and judiciary systems free from religion, but most importantly, he stood for civil rights for men, women, boys, and girls and against the forced veiling of women. Not surprisingly, he was overthrown by a Pashtun revolt.

ID#:38,
Yellow King Afghan War Rug
Good design. King Zahir Shah.

ID#:2,
Green King Afghan War Rug
Perfect. Full pile. Densely knotted. Excellent Drawing of King. Strong gesture. Face looks like King Zahir Shah. Date is 1995.