Gulistan Surplus One-OF-A-Kind-Afghan Rug

A deep wine-burgundy Herat Turkmen carpet whose multicolour elem bands and honeycomb lozenge medallion speak directly to a Central Asian heritage carried across centuries.
When Turkmen weavers migrated into western Afghanistan in the early twentieth century — from Merv, from Kunduz, from the steppe — they brought their looms, their dyes, and their design memory with them. The elem bands at the head and foot of this carpet, worked in bold horizontal stripes of ivory, orange, red, and navy, are not decoration; they are a signature. Every Turkmen carpet with these flatwoven ends announces its lineage without ambiguity. The deep wine-burgundy field, centred by a single lozenge medallion whose interior is worked in a dense honeycomb trellis — a composition that rewards closer and closer looking — is knotted entirely in wool from the Karakul sheep of the region, a breed whose dual fleece has supplied the finest carpet wool in Central Asia for over a thousand years. The Surplus designation simply means this piece was woven beyond a specific order. The quality is identical.
A hand-knotted & woven rug is an investment piece. With proper care it will last a lifetime and become a cherished heirloom. Each knot in this collection is tied by hand by nomadic tribesmen, making every piece entirely one of a kind.
Variations in colour and tone — known as abrash — are a hallmark of authentic handmade rugs, particularly tribal and vintage pieces. Wear and age only add to their beauty.