AFGHAN CARPET

stout, long-wearing floor covering handwoven by the Afghan tribe of Turkmens of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Afghan carpets are generally all wool or goat hair and are made with the Senna (Sehna) knot. Usually in dull reds, these carpets show less white than the products of other Turkmens. Their gul, or basic tribal motif, is a large, parti-coloured, scalloped octagon or near octagon, full of forms like arrowheads or trilobed figures that resemble shamrocks. The guls alternate with other motifs, usually clusters of dark blue, connected stars. The border may be a notched zigzag stripe. A few "golden" Afghans, with a moderate use of yellow and orange, offer a contrast to their somber fellows. Small rugs are rarely seen except among an aniline-dyed recent Afghanistan production.