According to Soviet sources available in the U.S., between 100,000 and 120,000 Soviet troops were stationed in Afghanistan at any given time. With normal Soviet tour-of-duty rotations, it can safely be deduced that well in excess of one million Soviet soldiers have served in Afghanistan. But not all were in a financial position to purchase war aksi rugs; enlisted Soviet conscript make only about $10 U.S. per month. The main pool of viable war aksi rugs purchasing is then narrowed to the officer and NCO corps, who traditionally make up 30% of Soviet troop strength, for a total of 300,000 over a nine-year period, as well as various civilian Soviet advisors, technocrats, et al.

I believe that war aksi were developed in response to the demands of a new consumer group - the Soviet military presence in Afghanistan. The belief that war aksi were developed in response to Soviet "tourist" dollars is based on a simple fact. Prior to the arrival of "invited" Soviet troops, the Afghan army had all the necessary impedimentia of war - tanks, rifles, grenades - yet the earliest rug I can reliably date to purchase was bought by an American diplomat in Peshawar, Pakistan, in June of 1980. The arrival of Soviet troops caused the creation of the new aksi genre.

An overseas dealer, who has visited Afghanistan several times since the arrival of the Soviet presence, has kindly provided me with the following market information, which is current in Afghanistan at this time.

Sizes ofrugs have become fairly standardized. They are zaronim (140cm x 90cm), sejade (200cm x 120cm), and parde (270 cm x 120 cm). Runners apparently have no trade designation, although they are being woven in some quantity. War juvals are found in the traditional range of sizes. (Yes, war juval; after all, where would all those Soviet main battle camels be without them?). The known trade names currently in use in Afghanistan are: Zakini, from the area between Herat and Farah; Sarkilimdar (Kilim-up-and-down), from the area below Qala-i-Nau in the Ghor district; Mushwani, from northern Afghanistan, below the Soviet border.

Zakini are the most common war aksi and are always knotted. War iconography predominates over traditional designs, though traditional design elements are present, usually in borders. The Sarkilimdar quality of rugs is the most technically diverse, comprising knotted rugs, kilims, weft-wrapped soumacs, and combinations of two or more of the preceding. Designs of the group have a predominant central landscape featuring rivers, mountains, mosques, etc., with planes flying overhead or tanks and vehicles driving by. Sarkilimdars also feature words in English, Russian, and Dari. My source has collected English words he's come across - baby, ever, hatches (?), TOROIL, PENT, USSR. And the ever-inventive Afghan weaver has made up "English" words of her own by putting letters together that she liked: RMVT. As my source says, the words mean nothing but they have a good aesthetic result! Sarkilimdar rugs are woven of the best quality wools available, sometimes undyed. My source is deeply impressed with the wool colorations - rich, muted, and velvety at the same time. No determination has been made whether the dyes used are vegetal or not.

The Mushwani rugs are the most traditional of war aksi, war iconography found usually as minor devices. Almost all weaving is knotted pile. As vital as is the information above, at this time I can attribute only five war aksi to these categories. Until further information can be collected, I propose to categorize war aksi through rough trends in design evolution.

Traditional: Portrayal of war iconography as secondary design devices, with pre-war traditional motifs predominant. War design devices are usually restricted to the border, with occasional war devices found playing a minor role in field design. War devices are accurately portrayed, but stylized.

Transitional: War iconography in a 50% - 50% ratio with traditional design motifs. War design devices become an integral part of field design. War iconography is accurately portrayed, with minimal stylization. Traditional borders are the norm.

Commercial: War iconography heavily predominant, strongly stylized, traditional design motifs almost completely relegated to the borders. Most war aksi are of the commercial type.

Cartoon: War devices completely dominate the rug, the devices being extremely realistic. There is an almost complete absence of traditional designs. Smaller format than other war aksi, with coarser weave. No balance of design.

In the following illustrations, where possible, the reader is provided with date and source of purchase. Design degeneration (perhaps design evolution is a better term) is occurring with lightning rapidity. I believe it is essential to document, insofar as possible, what we can while we can.

The earliest group, traditional war aksi, are distinguished by clear drawing and well spaced, balanced design with no crowding. To me, the transitional group is also the most poignant. The weaver clearly has struggled to hold on to traditional design pool motifs while integrating depictions of war material that would assure its sale. Illustration I is unique in America, to my knowledge, due to its construction. The kilim ground is highlighted by designs inserted in wool pile. Several dealers have indicated that the basic design is a fairly common one woven for commercial sale; it is the inclusion of the six military vehicles which assures this rug's uniqueness. The vehicles are not sufficiently detailed to allow their exact type to be pinpointed; however, the three brown vehicles with antennae - like projections may have a communication or target acquisition purpose. Please note the two humanoid figures, possibly the drivers, in the vehicles above and below the mihrab. According to the collector who owns this piece, it was purchased from a dealer in Switzerland in mid-1987. This dealer purchased it in October, 1985, as part of a lot of Afghan rugs; it was the only war aksi of the lot.

Illustration 2, also of the traditional period, is again unique in this country to my knowledge. The ground is worked in soumac, with all design devices worked in knotted pile. Typical of traditional aksi, war iconography for the most part is relegated to the border, with the exception of two cargo planes flanking a light observation helicopter which bisects the field design consisting of two traditional pomegranate flower vases. Four different configurations of armored vehicles occur in the border. One is of a tank; note the stylization of the tank tread as a triangle at the base of the vehicle. The other three armored vehicles are variations on the theme of armored personnel carriers (APCs), while the heavy cargo truck is second cousin to the ones in use by American forces today.

The transitional style is represented in Oriental Rug Review, Vol. 8, No.5, pp.28-29, and in Illustration 3. War iconography leaves the border and enters the field, absorbed into traditional design. Illustration 3 is of a fairly common commercial design, with the exception of its war motifs. (1 own an almost identical example, sans war iconography.) Traditional borders enclose five medallions, the medallions each bisected from the next by rows of three armored personnel carriers. Each of the carriers has one occupant coming out of its hatch and between each carrier is a male figure au naturel. Surrounding each medallion, outlined in white, are highly stylized design features representing one of the MIG series of fighter/bomber jets. No information is available on date or source of acquisition. It should be noted that traditional and transitional war aksi are very scarce in this country.

Illustrations 4 and 5 are superb examples of the commercial style. Traditional design pool motifs are almost completely subordinate to war iconography; indeed, in Illustration 5 one is hard pressed to fmd much of anything, short of the water jugs, that smacks of the old-fashioned. Crowded fields, typical of the commercial style, are evident.

Illustration 4 shows the increasing stylization of war iconography; if you didn't know you were looking at a tank, chances are you never would have guessed. The design of the helicopter is consistent with that of the Soviet HIND, the largest gun ship and, in terms of firepower, the most powerful in use in the world today. Traditional filler amulet designs have been almost completely ousted in favor of new war amulets: heavy caliber machine guns, cargo trucks, and grenades. It saddens me how easily a boteh has become a grenade.

The latest phase of war aksi, the cartoon, is shown in Illustration 6. It is one of a group of three remarkable rugs of the same size, coloration, and format, all probably the work of the same weaver. The one illustrated was chosen not because of the now all-too-familiar Kalishnikov rifle or utility helicopter but because a figure of a man holding a surface-to-surface or surface-to-air missile launcher. Not enough detail is available to determine precisely which type it is, but its size in relationship to the man holding it is consistent with that of a Stinger missile; we'll never know for sure. The other unusual war icon depicted in this series of rugs was a RPG-7, a simple, cheap, and nasty shoulder-fired anti-tank grenade, much beloved of terrorists everywhere. The owner of this group of rugs recently purchased them from a California dealer. One is dated A.H. 1357 (A.D. 1979), however I do not believe that was the year it was woven by virtue of the fact that the war material depicted in the series was not, for the most part, in Afghanistan at that time. The owner believes the rugs were woven in the area around Aqcha by Turkomans.

There does seem to be a demand for war aksi, though. They are now being copied by Pakistani weavers. The Pakistani war aksi are characterized by dull wool, dark and turgid dyes, and a total lack of the exuberance found in their Afghan counterparts.

Are war rugs important? Yes, in fact they are the only group of rugs woven reflecting actual events contemporaneous with the weaving (no, Lenin and Trotsky portrait Turkoman rugs don't count). They capture the horror of war in the only way the weaver knew - with wool and her fingers. Are they things of beauty? In the eyes of this beholder, you bet!

I'd like to thank several people who were generous with their time, knowledge, and their rugs: Tamor Shah of Afghanistan's Nomadic Rugs, Atlanta: Luca Brancati, Turin (whose traveling exhibition of war aksi is being received with great acclaim all over Italy); and fmally, and fervently, to Saul Barodofsky and the wonderful people at Sun Bow Trading Company of Charlottesville, Virginia.