Long Afghan Balochi Wool Runner. Handwoven, with asymmetrical floral patterns in the field and geometric lines in the border, all in rich orange and deep navy tones. 

Size: 46 x 102 in. 

Balochi rugs (also called Baluch or Baluchi) are a group of carpets woven by the Baloch tribes in Nimroz province, Sistan and Baluchistan province, and Khorasan province (Khorasani Baloch) in the northeast and southeast of Iran. Balochi rugs are typically lighter and easier to transport than most other Persian rugs, and they are often recognizable for having asymmetrical patterns that differentiate them from most Persian designs. Nature, animal figurines, religious beliefs, and objects of interest and use by the people of the tribe are visualized in these designs. However, similar to other rugs made in Iran and Afghanistan, they are mostly designed geometrically with lines and surfaces, creating abstract and non-abstract patterns. The Mehrabi is a particularly popular Balochi prayer rug that typically features a mihrab or arch at one end of the rug. One of the most unusual rugs of any in all of Central Asia comes from this tribe and a few others that inhabit the Afghanistan/Pakistan region, referred to as War Rugs. What makes war rugs so unique and sought after is their place in Afghan history, often made in the latter half of the 20th Century and incorporating iconography or even exact images of the machines of war the Soviets and later American soldiers brought to the country.

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