Afghan war rug exhibit highlights new trend

By Julie Mollins

TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - When Master Corporal Paul Franklin started collecting war rugs while serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan he did not know he would be part of a growing global trend.

He commissioned a carpet after an Afghan National Army soldier told him it was a tradition to own a prayer war rug as a souvenir of having fought in a battle.

His rug, which depicts the Canadian and Afghan flags and Canadian military vehicles, is similar to the more than 100 war rugs to be displayed in a new exhibit opening on April 23 at the Textile Museum of Canada.

"Battleground: War Carpets From Afghanistan" will include rugs depicting images such as the departure of the Soviet army from Afghanistan, the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the search for Osama bin Laden.

But the significance of many of the woolen rugs, which range in value up to $2,200 and are often sold on eBay, is a mystery.

"It's hard to tell what a particular rug is supposed to mean when its history is hidden and its maker is unknown," said Max Allen, the curator of the exhibit.

"What's left are the rugs themselves -- eloquent anonymous documents of a world turned upside down," he added in an interview.

War rugs first emerged during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989 when the U.S. was providing covert support for the mujahideen to fight the Soviets.