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Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan

Presented by University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum)

April 30, 2011

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Join the University of Pennsylvania Museum for the official ribbon cutting of Battleground: War Rugs from Afghanistan followed by a special lecture by Dr. Brian Spooner, Curator, Near East Section, Penn Museum, and an expert on traditional Afghanistan rugs and weaving. The rug weavers of Afghanistan, long renowned for their artistry, depict on their rugs the world that they see. Like television news, their rugs “report” current events. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and throughout more than three decades of international and civil war, Afghan weavers have borne witness to disaster by weaving unprecedented images of battle and weaponry, into their rugs. Flowers have turned into bullets, landmines, and hand grenades. Birds have turned into helicopters and fighter jets. Sheep and horses have turned into tanks. These are the images on a new and electrifying kind of Oriental rug–the “war rugs” from Afghanistan. More than 60 Afghanistan “war rugs” woven since 1980 are featured in this traveling exhibition organized by the Textile Museum of Canada and making its U.S. debut at the Penn Museum.