I am a oriental (mainly Persian) rug hobbyist with limited experience. I recently bought for $275 a rug labeled "Baluchistan rug" at a prominent auction house in Washington, DC. I was attracted to the cheerful colors, a design that looked to me more Caucasian than Baluchi, and a fringe typical of tribal rugs.

The rug measures 5.5 ft. by 10.5 ft. It has around 50 kpsi. The foundation is wool. The warp threads are a heterogeneous mixture of brown and cream-colored threads, giving an overall color of brown (not gray like many newer Afghan rugs). The fringe on one side is very long with strands tied to form thick cables. The weft threads seem to be brown also. The handle is supple, not tight. The intense colors, which have not been "lightened," do not strike me as being from vegetable dyes. I did not find many examples of weaving errors or whimsical irregularities, but there is one of the latter to the right of the blue "rod" in the lower right corner of Fig. 1. The rug does not appear to be very old.

After going through my handful of oriental rug books, I am still confused about what this rug is. Is it an "Afghan rug"? Is it an "Afghan Kazak" rug? Is it made by tribal/nomadic people or made in a workshop to look tribal? Which country is the most likely weaving location (Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, or Caucasus)? How unusual is the design of this rug, particularly the "rods" with repeating rams-horn motifs? Thank you very much in advance for your expert opinions.

Thank you, Rugfirm, for your expert and encouraging evaluation. I knew at first sight that the design of the rug is Caucasian rather than Baluchi, but my main uncertainty concerns where it was woven geographically. Somehow it got the vague label "Baluchistan rug," suggesting that it may have been woven in southeast Iran, southern Afghanistan, or Pakistan. Thus I am wondering what you mean by the term "authentic" when you wrote "authentic Caucasian rug." I thank the forum in advance for any additional insight about this rug.