The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
The rug is a 'Soviet Exodus' war rug, depicting images of stylised Soviet tanks leaving along two roads coming out of the north of a map of Afghanistan, evidence of the Soviets' 'route of retreat'. 'Soviet Exodus' war rugs were originally produced in the 1990s, but new versions (such as this one) continue to be produced for the international market. The rug depicts a map of Afghanistan in the centre, with the names of the countries geographically bordering Afghanistan surrounding it. The rug also includes depictions of the Afghanistan flag, text in an Afghan language and a range of Soviet weapons, aircraft and tanks. The blending of recording historical events, geographic regions, images of Soviet armaments and a traditional geometric border of triangular shapes in blue, ochre, rust and black is unique. War rugs are primarily made by members of the Uzbek, Baluch, Turkmen and Hazara ethnic groups, who, most recently, have fled the dominance of the Taliban in Afghanistan. As historical documents, war rugs provide a means of capturing the changing nature of Afghan society and culture, due to the impact of successive conflicts, while also preserving traditional techniques and designs.
The 'classic red war rug' is a stylistically intricate rug, with a complex and dense design layout, using rich red, orange and green colours. The rug is dominated by images of Soviet weaponry, especia
The 'September 11th' war rug is a very recent example of a rug reflecting contemporary events. It depicts a map of Afghanistan, with a superimposed world globe on top of the map, a representation of a
This war rug commemorates the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in the 1990s. Bright blue is used in the map of Afghanistan, providing a sharp contrast to the red of the roads depicted on the rug whi
This rug depicts a combination of a mid blue background against which are depicted rows of tanks in the centre and around the edge and rows of weapons. It is likely that this rug is in the '10 tank' s
The 'September 11th' war rug is a very recent example of a rug reflecting contemporary events. It depicts a map of Afghanistan, with a superimposed world globe on top of the map, a representation of a
A large Afghan war rug (Baluchi) depicting a number of military motifs, including tanks, gun carriers, grenades, armoured vehicles, as well as Baluchi geometric medallions and plant forms. The central
A small Afghan war rug (Turkoman), depicting images of Soviet helicopters and mounted Afghan horseman carrying rifles. Turkoman rugs were originally produced by nomadic groups inhabiting western Turke
This war rug was produced after 2003, shortly after the Coalition forces routed the Taliban in Afghanistan. The rug consists of a map of Afghanistan which highlights the Tora Bora region in the east a