Salmiya

Timuri prayer rug Dokhtar-i Ghazi design Afghanistan, 150 cm x 98 cm, old (second half of 20th century) Warp: W, Z2S, ivory, light brown Weft: W, S, ivory Pile: W, Z Knots: as1 Density: 17 x 11, ca. 187 kpsi (2900 per sq dm) Height of pile: 2 mm Handle: like velvet, grainy Upper end: - Lower end: - Sides: 0.5 cm wide, W, selvages black Colors: 5, black, dark-purple, dark blue, brown-red, ivory (beige) Classic Dokhtar-i Ghazi (the Qadi’s daughter) design. With considerable density of knots. The origin is sometimes identified as Timuri, an Afghan/Central Asian tribe which, according to George O’Bannon, does no longer exist in Afghanistan. See also a less interesting rug in R. D. Parsons’ Carpets of Afghanistan, plate 98. Good examples may be found on Thomas Cole’s page: http://www.tcoletribalrugs.com/article45YaqubKhani.html , http://www.tcoletribalrugs.com/article30PitOcts.html

Seh Mihraba prayer rug Baluch, Afganistan, 135 cm x 87 cm, old (first half of 20th century) Warp: W, Z2S ivory Weft: W, Z2, dark brown Pile: W, Z2 Knots: as1 Density: 60 x 40, ca. 2400 knots per sq dm (about 150 kpsi) Height of pile: 3 mm Handle: like velvet, somewhat grainy Upper end: ca. 7 cm kilim, the cut warp ends are knotted together Lower end: ca. 8 cm kilim Sides: ca. 0.5 cm wide W Shirasi in dark brown, additional threads Colors: ca. 7: dark red, red, dark blue, dark beige, brown, dark green, pink. Seh Mihraba literally means three mihrab s, or prayer niches. While the asymmetrical composition and overall design of this Afghan Baluchi prayer rug is very typical for rugs from the Shindand market area south of Herat, the very dark colors and especially the extensive usage of dark green on this rug are not. The dark blue central area with its spandrel features a red tree-of-life pattern. It is flanked by two dark green columns and four boxes each at the top and the bottom. While...