Hand-knotted carpets are among Afghanistan’s best-known crafts, and their patterns often reveal who wove them. Weaving traditions belong to particular communities and regions. Among the Turkmen of the north the weavers were traditionally women, who could spend up to a year on a single carpet and carried complex designs in their memory.
Many Ersari Turkmen live and weave in north-western Afghanistan and along the Oxus. Like other Turkmen rugs, theirs are dominated by red, dyed with madder root in shades from walnut brown to brilliant scarlet. The main field repeats a medallion called the gul (göl), and each tribe traditionally had its own version, a sign of its identity and pride.
Carpets ran through every part of nomadic life: floor rugs, tent bands, saddle covers, storage bags, prayer rugs and special trappings for the bride’s camel at weddings. From the 19th century, as trade with distant markets grew, weavers adapted, borrowing designs from Persian commercial carpets such as the Herati pattern. Goat hair, seldom used in Iranian carpets, is more common in Afghan weaving.