Afghan Mashwani Rug tribal decor tactile pile and the raw

tactile pile and the raw

The designs were family knowledge

The precision required to build a knotted pile on top of a finished flatweave

The weavers here learned their craft during the long mountain winters when farming stopped

woven by nomadic and semi-nomadic weavers who have maintained their craft across generations

Afghan Mashwani Rug tribal decor tactile pile and the rawThe Mashwani are a semi nomadic Pashtun tribe from the Herat region of western Afghanistan, and they are the only Pashtun tribe known for weaving pile rugs. What makes their rugs structurally unique is the construction, a combination of flatweave kilim and hand knotted pile worked together in the same piece, producing a surface that is embossed and dimensional, with design elements that sit raised against the flatwoven field. These rugs were