9'1" x 14'9" Afghan Kilim Rug | Tribal Double Diamond Medallions | 1970's Flat-Weave Wool

A room size tribal flat-weave from the 1970's, this 9'1" x 14'9" Afghan kilim has no pile at all. The design is built entirely from handspun wool packed tightly into the weave, which is why the whole piece lies thin, flat and reversible under furniture while still weighing like a serious rug. Two large stepped diamond medallions in apricot and burnt orange run the length of a dark red field, framed by a slim gold outline and a wide red border of orange and navy stars. At nearly 15 feet long it belongs with the oversize rugs rather than anything a standard 9x12 would cover, and it ships free anywhere in the 50 states with a certificate of authenticity.

Design and Motifs

The field carries 2 enormous concentric diamonds, each one stepped outward in bands of orange, navy and oxblood, with a small navy lozenge and a cross at the very center. Around them the weaver filled every remaining space with a lattice of small latch-hook diamonds and comb figures, the kind of drawing that is counted out on the loom rather than copied from a paper cartoon, so the lattice shifts slightly from one end to the other. A narrow gold and ivory sawtooth line separates field from border, and the main border repeats 8 petal star rosettes in orange and navy on red. A brown and ivory zigzag guard finishes all 4 sides, visible clearly in the corner and edge close-ups. For buyers who want this bold, counted style of drawing, it sits squarely with our tribal rugs and the wider family of geometric rugs.

A Palette of Burnt Orange, Oxblood and Navy

Color does all the work here. The medallion centers glow in a bright apricot to burnt orange that lightens and deepens across the weave, the natural abrash of handspun wool dyed in small lots. Against that sit two reds, a brick red in the border ground and a darker oxblood maroon in the field, with inky navy blue outlining the diamonds and filling alternate lattice cells. Small ivory and beige squares act like pinpoints of light along the diamond edges, a clear gold yellow runs in the inner stripe and in scattered border figures, and a deep undyed brown closes the outer edge and the end finish. The overall read is warm and saturated, perfect for white walls and pale upholstery as the room photo shows, and it belongs with the orange and rust rugs rather than anything muted.

Woven in Afghanistan: Flat-Weave Craft and Quality

Made in Afghanistan in the 1970's, this is a true slit-tapestry kilim: the colored wefts are beaten down hard over a wool warp so the pattern is the fabric itself, identical on both faces, as the folded back corner photograph shows. Afghan flat-weaving of this period used tough local sheep wool with a high lanolin content, which is why a 50 year old kilim like this one still feels firm and springy and remains sound and complete across more than 13 square yards of surface. Weaving a single uninterrupted piece this wide is the hard part, since it means a loom close to 9 feet across and two weavers working the same line for months. As an Oriental rug it offers the sturdiest, most practical construction there is: thin enough to clear a door, heavy enough to stay put, and easy to flip for even wear.