Afghanistan · Weaving / Carpet
هرات قالی (Herat Qali)
The Herat carpet (هرات قالی) is one of the most celebrated regional carpet traditions in the world — distinguished by the mahi (fish) pattern: a repeating field of stylized fish within a geometric rosette grid that has been woven in Herat for at least 500 years. Herat carpets use the Persian asymmetric knot (Senneh/Farsi) at a specific density range of 60-120 knots per square inch — a density that defines the carpet's price tier and its expected longevity. The defining technical knowledge is the knot density assessment by thumbnail: the completed knot row is pressed with the thumbnail across the pile — 'the thumbnail should find each knot without skipping — if it skips, the row is too loose; if it cannot advance, too dense.'
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Afghanistan national ICH list
Maidani (میدانی) is the silk embroidery tradition of the Hazara people of central Afghanistan — one of Afghanistan's most distinct ethnic groups, whose craft traditions have been particularly targeted in the current conflict.
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The raw-material chain that underlies Afghanistan's hand-knotted carpet traditions (Herat, Maimana, and others): Karakul sheep wool — prized for its dual fleece of a long, coarse outer layer and a softer inner layer that together give a…
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A backstrap-loom weaving tradition practiced continuously since before the Spanish invasion across more than twenty-five distinct Maya language groups in Guatemala, producing the huipil (women's blouse) in a visual vocabulary so specific…