Bagface.Co.Uk

Life in Rich Colour: Extraordinary rugs at ordinary prices in Scotland.
Hand-woven rugs and carpets individually sourced from around the world.

I came under the spell of oriental rugs while working as a photojournalist in Pakistan in the 1990s. I would travel to Afghanistan often and was blown away by the skill, artistry (both individual and collective) and sheer romance involved in the creation of tribal rugs. These weren't the kind of rugs I had seen in the workshops of Lahore and elsewhere in Pakistan, made purely to sell, and often woven by children in near Victorian factory conditions. Such Pakistani rugs were nearly always unimaginative, derivative, and usually marked by indifferent or downright noxious chemical colours. The rugs I found amongst the back-alley traders of Peshawar and occasionally in Afghanistan itself (although most had already been secreted out of that war-torn country), were the real thing.

Woven, less often to sell, than to use, or pass on to future generations as a wedding dowry, the wool came from local mountain sheep, or even goats and camels, and was hand-spun. Though adhering to certain heraldic rules, these rugs had individuality and a unique, uneven charm. Woven by tribal women and girls in their own tents or homes, they managed to reflect the characters and quirks of their weavers. I also learnt to see the incomparable beauty of the many natural dyes such as madder, indigo, saffron, conchineal and pomegranite. After seeing these colours extracted from roots, seeds, rocks or even insects, it was hard to look at chemical dyes the same way. These rugs would also display arbrush - slight striations in colouring that would imbue depth and 'shimmer' to the rug - which were a result of uneven absorption of the dyes. This only happens naturally with hand-spun wool which exhibits differences in thickness and density. Since these weavers were pastoral nomads they might only mix small amounts of dye at a time. The result might be sudden changes in colour in the rug, as they found themselves unable to mix exact colour matches in their new camp. All these quirks are what hooked me to rugs and they're what keep me hooked.

In the following years I expanded my tastes from purely tribal goods, and grew to like many, somewhat more worldly village and city rugs. I also expanded my geographical range. I had only known the Turkoman and Baluchi rugs of Afghanistan, and Central Asia, but I began to learn more about Persian, Turkish and Caucasian rugs. These also had all their own peculiarities and charms, and many exhibited amazing creative flare and wonderful colouring. I was hooked all over again. In short, I began to collect. However, I recently decided to start selling much of my collection as the line between collecting and hoarding is a fine one. My marriage is more important than my collection! I may decide to go into rug trading as a business venture in future, but that will depend on the possibility of sourcing good antique rugs, and that seems to be getting evermore difficult.

I have been storing my rugs in a facility in the UK, but have been gradually shifting rugs to Kenya. This website features the rugs that have so far been shipped here, but it will be continually evolving, so please do check in. Email or call me if you are interested in any of the featured rugs, or indeed if you have something specific you are looking for. I might be able to help.