"Afghan" War Rugs 4 Sale!!
I say we take up a collection and buy this!
http://auctions.ritchies.com/auctions/on101-online-auction-afghan-war-ru...
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World Trade Center Attack Rug Spurs Major Controversy
even more controversial?  RT now owns it! 
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_29283.aspx
World Trade Center Attack Rug Spurs Major Controversy
What happens when tradition meets tragedy?
It's a question that's on many minds Tuesday, as an auction of Persian rugs continues in Toronto. The beautifully made carpets traditionally depict classic moments from life in Afghanistan, and sometimes appear to glorify to war.
But one particular rug has many in the West up in arms. It shows the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, and depicts planes flying into the Twin Towers right before they fell. Sewed into the top is the date "2001/11" in red and white, followed by a thinner stitching that simply reads "September."
The bottom depicts an arrow pointing to the statement, "Made In Afghanistan."
The rug auction, hosted by Ritchie's, is part of a show at the Textile Museum of Canada and more than $400 has been bid for the controversial item in question.
But many are wondering if it's appropriate to sell such a product in a country where soldiers are fighting and dying against the very people accused of plotting and committing the act.
"This is essentially folk art," said Ritchie's Duncan Blair. "It's the closest thing you'll get to a first-hand depiction for people that might not even be literate. They may have no other outlet to show what is happening."
"It's not a political statement so to speak," he said of the WTC rug. "They're not celebrating this as much as it looks to us that they may be celebrating it."
Still, many find the images inappropriate.
"It's pretty offensive because September 11th was an unfortunate event in North America, throughout the world even. It's unfortunate that someone sees it as art," said one Torontonian.
You can see the controversial rug, and others, by clicking here.
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The other rugs are interesting, too...
I'm torn between "Kalashnikov on Yellow" and "Helicopters and Peacocks."
twin towers rug sold
This rug, depicting the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre, was sold during an online auction hosted by Ritchies.
Rug depicting 9/11 attack popular on auction block
ctvtoronto.ca
The most popular item on the auction block Wednesday was a rug depicting the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers, says an official with Ritchies Auctioneers.
The online auction closed at 2 p.m. and the rug, titled "Twin Towers Attack" fetched $450. The item drew the most response, said Duncan Blair, Ritchies' rug and carpet specialist.
The item also sparked a couple of angry emails from viewers, Blair said. However, he also said he heard from people who understood that Afghani weavers traditionally use images of war in their tapestries.
Blair said there is an entire genre of rugs that were made with images of 9/11.
"To take (the rug) out of its context is much more shocking," he said. "When you see it beside other rugs that have mission artillery helicopters, you see that they're just showing us war the way they see it."
He pointed to other rugs that are also up for auction in the exhibit: "Afghan War Rugs and Ephemera" as an example.
Several rugs have scenes of military tanks in Herat, an Afghani village attacked by the Soviets in 1979. Many of these have a picture of the Great Friday Mosque in Herat woven into it -- a symbol of the strength of Islam in Afghanistan.
On the Richies' website, there is a brief introduction to the exhibit that explains the tradition of war images in Afghani tapestries.
"Afghan weavers have always depicted on their rugs what they see around them and what matters most to them," it says. "Thus on some Afghan rugs over the past three decades of military chaos, customary images of flowers have turned into bullets, or landmines, or hand grenades. Birds have turned into helicopters and fighter jets. Landscapes have filled up with field guns and troop carriers. Sheep and horses have turned into tanks. The group of war rugs offered here recounts this history."
Blair said the site of the twin towers being hit has become an "iconic image."
The World Trade Centre site is woven into the rugs with two planes crashing into sides of the twin towers. In the picture, the buildings have started to explode. The date of the attack is woven at the top of the tapestry. At the bottom, the artist wove "Made in Afghanistan."
Blair said he doubts the "Made in Afghanistan" signage was added on as an ironic statement or a political message about the war. Afghanistan is seen as the original base for Al Qaeda, the international Sunni Islamist movement behind the attacks.
"Most of (the artisans) are illiterate," he said. "I can't imagine that's the intention, seeing where it came from. There are other rugs that say 'Made in Afghanistan' as well."
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