Large red and black Afghan carpet

Boasting an archaic design and traditional deep colours this large red and black Afghan carpet will add a sumptuous warm ambience to your home. 

This classic Afghan carpet contains just two colours: red and black. The pattern is instantly recognisable as being from Afghanistan, with a richly coloured red field decorated with a geometric theme of 32 octagonal shaped motifs known as "guls". 

Discover more about this large red and black Afghan carpet

Perhaps the first thing to note about this traditional Afghan carpet is that it was handmade. It was made with an ancient carpet making technique where the pile of the carpet is created by hand-tied knots. It is, thus, a hand-knotted Afghan carpet. 

The pile is made from hand-knotted sheep wool and it was knotted onto a sturdy cotton foundation. These red and black Afghan carpets are notoriously hard wearing and immensely practical. This 11x8 Afghan carpet will provide you with many years (most likely decades) of pleasure and use. 

This large handmade Afghan carpet was woven in northern Afghanistan, in the vicinity of the town of Aqcha. There is a rich carpet weaving heritage in this region.

The design of this handmade Afghan carpet

This red and black Afghan carpet displays an iconic geometric pattern. Traditionally, handmade Afghan Aqcha carpets looked like this: with a deep red main colour decorated with an arrangement of repeating emblems laid out in columned formation. These octagonal shaped motifs are known as a "gul", which means flower. 

The large octagonal guls that we can see depicted in this carpet are known as "Fil Pai" or elephants foot - because of their shape. The central field is surrounded by a number of patterned borders. It used to be known: the more borders the higher the quality of the carpet. 

Using this 11x8 Afghan carpet in your home

Where ever you decide to lay this Aqcha carpet, you will find it to be durable and practical for everyday use. It's large size makes it ideal for use in spacious rooms such as living rooms and dining rooms.

This is one of those carpets that you can put down and not worry about. Simply vacuum it once a week to keep it maintained. 

We recommend using this red Afghan Aqcha carpet with rug underlay to keep it flat to the floor; this will also serve as a barrier (in the unlikely event) that the colours transfer to the flooring beneath. 

Key details:

• Country of origin: Afghanistan
• Size: 336×248cm / 11’0″x8’2″ 
• Thickness: 10mm
• Pile: Wool
• Warp: Cotton
• Age: New