Afghanistan has suffered through decades of war. The modern history of violence has seeped into the nation's ancient art of rug making — rugs now feature imagery of tanks, AK-47s and U.S. drones.

A 1995 map with weapons, soldiers and people with their horse and camel, Baluchi people, Afghanistan, 1995 Rugs with colorful grenade-themed borders, made by Turkmen people in Pakistan, mid-1990s ...

After the United States went to war in Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, rug collectors across America rushed to buy up as many Afghan rugs as they could. Many ...

Amid piles of flowery and geometric carpets in an Afghan shop sits a pink rug picturing a Kalashnikov rifle framed by hand grenades. Another shows planes hitting a World Trade Center overlaid by ...

Afghan war rugs have been sold for decades, but a recent design involving drones has led to a dispute between two international dealers. Who, if anyone, owns the design of this Afghan rug?

Over the past 20 years, Afghan war rugs have garnered considerable attention. Books in German and English describe, catalog and contextualize them.

“Afghan rugs are the highest sellers in America,” said John Mustafa, co-owner of Oriental Rug Co. in Santa Barbara. “Afghans are the best weavers in the world.

He opened Kapisa Rugs, an Evanston rug store, in March of 2020, and began selling hand woven carpets imported from a number of countries, including Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan to accomplish those ...

This type of rug is generally know as an Afghani war rug. They started coming onto the market shortly after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

Rugs are so central to Afghan culture they often are used as currency. So it is a shock when refugees must leave their rugs behind. Having a traditional rug in their new place can help them adjust.

When it comes to what to depict on rugs, Afghan weavers traditionally turn to what’s most familiar. So in the 1980s, when the Mujahedeen were fighting back the Soviet occupation, some local ...