Tribal Furniture

Old Pende giwoyo mask with traces of yellow, black and red pigments and woven black raffia hair cap. Strong face with tight expression, weathered surface, goo...

The carpets of the Tuareg, who are cattle herding nomads inhabiting a vast expanse of the Sahara desert, are among the most exciting group of weavings to appear on the market. These ...

Handwoven in wool, circa 1950-1960, this 5x9 vintage tribal Afghan kilim rug features vibrant medallions and geometric patterns in blue, green and beige/brown, on a red field, and a ...

This Mid-20th Century Persian Shiraz rug, measuring 3' 8" x 5' 0", embodies the rustic charm and cultural depth characteristic of Shiraz weavings. The central field features a spacio...

Handwoven in wool, circa 1950-1960, this 2×6 vintage Afghan tribal kilim runner, is a collectible tribal piece that may have been used as table covers in nomadic daily life, much sim...

An older small scale mask carved and painted white (now worn) with painted blue and black features and a black top knot. Marked on interior tape, “Yoruba”. The Mask with good age, fa...

Handwoven in Turkey circa 1950-1960, an expressive vintage flatweave rug enjoying nomadic sensibilities entering our Kilim & Flatweave collection. The field features a tribal geometr...

Large woven painted basketry wall mask created in Blackwater Rivers area, Papua New Guinea. With open expressive mouth and mask fringed with feathers, striking mask that easily hang...

An Epa helmet mask, Nigeria, Africa. Fully carved mother and child; painted red and black with touches of white; Provenance: The Children's Museum of Indianapolis; The Eiteljorg Mu...

This long pile, two-tone carpet was woven by a Berber tribe in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The brown and ivory colors are undyed, directly from the nomads' own sheep. The rayed, ...

This vintage 3x6 Persian runner is a Gabbeh rug that originates from the Qashqai tribe—hand-knotted in wool circa 1950-1960. Its repeat is a geometric pattern that plays beige and...

Hand-knotted in wool, this 2x4 Baluch Afghan rug of the 1950s is the latest to enter Rug & Kilim’s Antique & Vintage collection. On the Design: The vintage Baluch rug carries triba...

A vintage Persian Gabbeh modernist carpet from the mid-20th century. A vintage Persian Gabbeh rug. The khaki field of this small square tribal scatter is closely covered by a nested ...

Handwoven in wool circa 1950-1960, this vintage tribal kilim rug from the Baluch tribe is the latest to join Rug & Kilim’s prestigious collection of flatweaves. On the Design: Spe...

A vintage Turkish flat-weave Kilim accent carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 6' 10" x 9' 7" Flat-weave rugs carpets: Knotted pile rugs are just one small part of a vast universe of textile techniques suitable for heavy use. If you can imagine it, some weaver has tried it out. Pieces can be roughly divided into those reversible from the start and those never, or at least not initially, reversible. Thus, kilims are considered reversible, while everything else is not. Kilims are tapestry woven rugs with both sides the same, in either slit technique where colors change, or with various methods of avoiding slits. Slit tapestry weave goes back to ancient times and Coptic Egyptian weavers used it for ornaments on garments and larger wall hangings. Slits can be avoided by dovetailing of colors (warp sharing) or by interlocking the wefts. The Navajo weavers of the Southwest practice the first while the Fine shawl weavers of Kashmir and Kerman employed the second. Interlocking produces a one-faced fabric, with smooth and rough, ridged faces. The typical Turkish, Caucasian, or Persian rustic Kilim shows slits, but never long ones. Aubusson French carpets are also slit tapestries and the long color transitions are sewn up as part of the regular maintenance. Some kilims are very Fine. The best antique urban Sehna (Senna) kilims on wool, cotton or silk warps approximate the comparable rugs in refinement and are the most desirable of all Persian kilims. Although the various flatweave techniques are usually expressed in geometric, simple, often repeating, patterns, Sehna kilims demonstrate that even the most intricate designs can be effectively rendered in flat-stich. The term ‘Kilim’ has been extended to cover any pileless, weft-faced heavy textile. Thus, the sectioned and joined northeastern Persian horizontally striped wool rugs are called ‘kilims’. So are the plain-weave end finishes of pile rugs. All these are weft-faced, weft patterned flatweaves. These sectioned pieces are woven not on a frame loom, but one steadied by the weaver at one end and with the warps fastened down at the other. Only relatively recent have these tribal pieces become available. They are used as floorcoverings, hangings, room dividers, furniture covers. They are mostly bitonal in shades of natural dark brown and beige. Some more recent pieces show weaver innovations with ikat and moire effects. Work proceeds quickly and a skilled weaver can complete a thirty foot strip in almost no time. Wefts, the elements added as weaving progresses, play an essential part in what is a flatweave. The best-known example of an extra-weft, wrapping technique is on Caucasian and tribal Persian Soumaks, where a pattern weft wraps around the fixed warp, changing as weaving progresses. Soumaks can be large carpets, Kuba in the Caucasus, small bag faces (Caucasian and Persian Shah Savan saddle bags), or cover scatter rugs (Persian Afshars). The Soumak technique is fast, and a weaver can work much more quickly than tying knots. The left-over wefts are cut off on the back, so the front and back are initially different. As a Soumak on the floor gets used, these weft yarns wear away and the two sides converge although the exact texture remains distinct. There are other ways of pattern by weft. Often on smaller tribal pieces, the pattern weft(s) is (are) part of the weft structure, moving in an out, and holding the whole thing together. These wefts can be complementary or added (supplementary), continuous across the flatweave or cut off as they travel unneeded across the verso. Supplementary weft flatweaves are often very compact and substantial. The nomadic Turkmen and Balouch tribes employ both supplementary and complementary weft techniques on their pieces. Supplementary wefts are often raised on the recto (front) while complementary wefts are flat to the surface. Tribal Kurds employ this extra-wefting technique. The Balouch of Pakistan use complementary wefts almost exclusively on their small woven paraphernalia like salt bags. Flatweave techniques may be combined on a single piece. Afshar rugs employ plain-weave end strips, preceded by Soumak bands, with pile sections between. The large Bakhtiari saddlebags feature Soumak work, pile “islands” an areas of plain-weave. Qashqai rugs and kilims frequently displays checkerboard end strips in continuous, complementary wefting. Another distinct flatweave type is the jajim (jijim, cecim) in which a pattern is added with colored wefts as the weaving of the plain-weave ground progresses. Here the wefts are discontinuous and the pattern stands proud from the voided ground. Often made in two pieces on narrow looms and edge-sewn together, these may have geometric patterns. The term ‘jajim’ also refers to the assembled warp-faced strip and stripe covers from the Shah Savan of northwest Persia, the pattern is defined by warps alone, usually in plain stripes, but sometimes in designs of ladders, snakes, human figures and various animals. Here the color changing warps are continuous. Most are wool, a few are silk. Better to call these something else. Indian ‘Dhurries’ are all cotton kilims and ‘shatrangis’ employ wool wefts on cotton warps. Dhurries are slitless. The cotton texture is more appropriate to the humid and warm climate of the Indian subcontinent. Modern Dhurries...

The Baule people of the Ivory Coast used ram masks in secular, public performances. Realistically carved, and wonderfully decorated, they were designed to draw attention and enhance ...

A vintage Persian Pictorial accent rug in square format handmade by the Bakhtiari nomadic tribe during the mid-20th century with a pictorial design of an androgynous figure...

Early woven painted basketry yam mask from Papua New Guinea. Bug eyed or bird faced mask with heavy incrustation from many years of use, a striking mask that ...

This fine Mende ‘Sowei’ mask was worn exclusively by women. The mask represents an ideal of feminine beauty admired by the Mende: elaborate hairstyles, full forehead, small facial fe...

This is a very unusual Chiefs robe from the Ewe people of the Volta region of Ghana . Hand woven from handspun cotton a mixture of natural and chromatic dyes in a very unusual colou...

51321 vintage Turkish striped Kilim rug with Bohemian Tribal style, flat-weave rug. This hand woven wool vintage Turkish striped Kilim rug features double colored bands in alternatin...

A vintage Turkish tribal flatweave Kilim accent rug handmade during the mid-20th century in shades of brown and cream. Measures: 6' 0" x 8' 3".

A vintage 3x5 Persian Gabbeh rug in the latest entries to Rug & Kilim’s curation of rare tribal pieces. Hand-knotted in wool circa 1950-1960. On the Design: This pattern enjoys...

This vintage 4x7 Persian rug is a rare tribal piece, hand-knotted in wool circa 1950-1960. The design favors a beige field that hosts three horse pictorials in rust and silver-gray with black accents. It’s a collectible piece of primitivist folk art with the old-world charm nomadic Persian rugs...

20647 Vintage Red Talsint Moroccan Rug, 06'00 x 14'05. Marvel at the enchanting artistry of this hand-knotted wool vintage Talsint Moroccan rug, originating from the Figuig region in...

This early 20th-century Persian Mehraban rug is a radiant expression of village weaving tradition from northwestern Iran. At its center lies a large floral medallion, its stylized pe...

A vintage Persian Karajeh accent rug handmade during the Mid-20th Century. Measures: 4' 10" x 6' 6".

This vintage 3x5 Persian rug is a rare tribal rug, handmade in felted wool by Torkaman weavers circa 1940-1950. Handmade in felted wool, Turkoman...

Yoruba people have one of the highest incidents of twin births in the world. As a result, twin children are regarded as extraordinary, divine beings protected by Sango, the deity of ...

A rare collectible Moroccan vintage shag rug. This antique handwoven rug came from the Beni Mguild tribe from the central middle Atlas mountains. This piece came out of an important ...

This is a beautiful handwoven Turkish flatweave rug from the 1960s that consists of all wool and is naturally dyed. We offer custom recreations i...

A 6 x 9 vintage Kilim rug in handwoven wool, originating from Turkey, circa 1950-1960. Enjoying warm orange and gold in the wide-spanning tribal colorway pallet throughout the all ov...

51333, vintage Turkish striped Kilim rug with Bohemian Tribal style, flat-weave rug. This handwoven wool vintage Turkish striped Kilim rug features double colored bands with symbolic...

Hand-knotted in wool & goat hair, this vintage tribal rug of the 1950s is a coveted addition to Rug & Kilim’s Antique & Vintage collection. On the Design: Coming from the Baluch ...

This vintage 4x8 Persian Bidjar kilim is handwoven in wool, and originates circa 1950-1960. Further on the Design: The rare piece carries polychromatic geometric patterns favo...

A beautify early 20th century Persian Mazlaghan rug with a tribal pattern containing stylized flowers and scrolling vines, living in a field of more flowers, and all surrounded by a ...

A vintage Persian flatweave Kilim square accent rug handmade during the mid-20th century with a zebra print pattern. Measures: 5' 7" x 5' 2".

This African Men's Ewe Kente cloth has a light aubergine, eggplant, maroon purple background with highlights of orange, yellow, light green, light blue and...

Handwoven in wool circa 1950-1960, this 5x12 vintage Afghan kilim is a new curation from Rug & Kilim’s collection. On the Design: Specifically believed to be coming from tribal we...

Hand-knotted in wool, this 4x7 Baluch Afghan rug of the 1950s is the latest to enter Rug & Kilim’s Antique & Vintage collection. On the Design: The piece features tribal geometric ...

A vintage Persian Veece small room size carpet handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 7' 7" x 11' 0".

This beautifully carved title stool, from the Gogo culture in Tanzania, features a wonderful looped and adjoining structure. Dating back to the mid-twentieth century, this fine examp...

A bold and beatiful vintage Moroccan rug with a repeated diamond pattern surrounded by a repeated geometric patterned border, and all woven in bright o...

This vintage 5x13 Persian Kilim is believed to be a tribal rug of the 1950s. Handwoven in wool, its design enjoys medallions and geometric motifs in rich brown, beige, and blue t...

This 7x10 vintage rug is believed to be a rare mid-century Ersari rug, hand-knotted in wool and originating in Turkey circa 1950-1960. On the Design The Ersari are a sub-tribe of t...

A vintage 4x5 Persian Gabbeh rug in the latest entry to Rug & Kilim’s curation of rare tribal pieces. Hand-knotted in wool circa 1950-1960. On the Design: This piece emanates a...

This vintage 5x5 Persian kilim rug is handwoven in wool, and originates circa 1950-1960. Its design is a panel-weave, in which tribal weaves combine two or more flat weaves into o...

Large African Tuareg hand tooled leather pillow. Great colors, hand painted with tribal geometric design with long leather fringes on each side. Handcrafted in Africa with pieces of ...

Handwoven in wool circa 1950-1960, this 4x7 vintage Baluch Kilim is a new curation from Rug & Kilim’s primitivist flatweaves. On the Design: Specifically believed to hail from th...

A vintage Persian Mahal folk throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 0" x 5' 1".

Vintage 1950's geometric design large wool blanket., handwoven in the highlands of Guatemala. All natural wool colors ivory, dark brown and natural deep blue indigo vegetable dye fro...

A beautiful early 20th century Persian Baluch rug with an all-over stylized flower pattern woven in red, orange, and black wool, set against a brown background. The border is wonder...

This 7x9 vintage rug is believed to be a rare mid-century Ersari rug, hand-knotted in wool and originating in Turkey circa 1950-1960. On the Design:...

This antique vintage Moroccan rug came from the central middle Atlas mountains. This a rare example of a shag with a black background and bold, vibrant colors. It was an authentic Be...

A colorful Tunisian Kilim decorated by a repeat pattern of horizontal stripes arranged in clusters of different width and palette. A very happy piece ce...

A vintage Turkish Anatolian rug from the mid-20th century. Measures: 7' 3" x 9' 2".

This vintage 6x12 Persian kilim is a tribal rug of Shahsavan provenance. Handwoven in wool, it originates circa 1950-1960. Further on the Design: This tribal Kilim favors strip...

Handwoven in wool circa 1950-1960, this 4x6 vintage Baluch Kilim is a new curation from Rug & Kilim’s primitivist flatweaves. On the Design: Specifically believed to hail from t...

A vintage Persian Malayer throw rug handmade during the mid-20th century. Measures: 3' 7" x 5' 7".

A vintage Persian Gabbeh carpet from the mid-20th century with a pictorial design of a lion.