Balouchi rug, floor covering woven by the Balouch people living in Afghanistan and eastern Iran. The patterns in these rugs are highly varied, many consisting of repeated motifs, diagonally arranged across the field. Some present a maze of intricate latch-hooked forms. Prayer rugs, with a simple rectangular arch-head design at one end (to indicate the direction of the holy city Mecca), are common. Normally, the field of these prayer rugs is filled with the leaves and stems of a highly stylized tree, and geometric small plants appear in the spandrels. Frequently, the Balouchi rugs have long aprons at both ends, decorated with stripes and bands of brocading. The colour scheme of older rugs is a dark combination of reds, browns, and blues with touches of white. Many pieces also make use of varying tan shades, either of camel hair or material dyed to resemble it. Balouchi rugs are usually all wool, but their material may also include goat and camel hair, cotton for whites, and in some cases a few knots of silk. The knotting is customarily asymmetrical. The rugs vary greatly in quality, the better ones usually being ascribed to the Khorasan province of Iran. Balouchi rugs are frequently classed with the products of the Turkmen but show little relationship to them.
