An exhibition of precious Afghan war rugs may have been destroyed by flooding in Lismore

Sally Pryor
March 4 2022 - 5:30am
Pam McGrath and Nigel Lendon at 'I weave what I have seen: War Rugs of Afghanistan', at the Drill Hall Gallery in 2021. Picture: Rob Little
Pam McGrath and Nigel Lendon at 'I weave what I have seen: War Rugs of Afghanistan', at the Drill Hall Gallery in 2021. Picture: Rob Little

It was a collection forged from the resilience of Afghan weavers, responding to the effects of war over several decades.

And now, this priceless collection of war rugs from Afghanistan has likely been severely damaged by catastrophic flooding in NSW, where they were on show in the Lismore Regional Gallery.

The gallery was severely flooded, although the extent of the damage was not yet known, as teams of curators and volunteers were preparing on Thursday to gain access to the building.

There were fears the gallery's entire collection may have been lost, as the building, along with countless others, was completely inundated.

Among the many works in the gallery was the large collection of Afghan war rugs, which were first exhibited at the Drill Hall Gallery at the Australian National University in July last year.

The textiles, which had been created out of conflict and violence, are now likely lost to a terrible natural disaster, the ultimate irony for a collection that had been lovingly gathered and curated over many years.

The Afghan war rugs were produced by weavers beginning with the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1979, where they were originally produced as souvenirs.

They often include images of maps, tanks and guns, and were above all a testimony to what people had seen and experienced, before becoming collectors' items.

The Drill Hall show, I weave what I have seen: The War Rugs of Afghanistan, was drawn largely from the collection of Canberra curator Nigel Lendon, who created the exhibition with historian and lawyer Tim Bonyhady.

Mr Lendon died tragically in October; the Afghan rugs were still on display, and the exhibition was his last great legacy before succumbing to a brain tumour.

Curator of exhibitions at the Drill Hall Gallery Tony Oates said he had been in touch with volunteers and staff in Lismore, who were still assessing the damage on Thursday.

"We have a group of conservators going tomorrow, they're waiting for the go-ahead," he said.

"At the moment in Lismore, there's no power, no clean water and nowhere to stay, so there's not a lot we can do right now."

He said some of the rugs may have been able to withstand the flooding, while others may be beyond repair.

"We're hoping for the best but fearing the worst at this stage," he said.

He said those in the gallery community in Lismore were "absolutely heartbroken" as they took in the flood toll.

Professor Bonyhady was also in shock as he waited to learn the fate of the exhibition he and his friend had spent years collaborating on, with the catastrophe occurring so soon after Mr Lendon's death.

Also among the gallery's thousands of artworks was the treasured and renowned Hannah Cabinet, an intricate cabinet built by master craftsman Geoff Hannah over six years.

The million-dollar cabinet took 5000 hours and six years to make, and contains 34 different types of timber, and 140 handmade drawers, as well as 17 types of stone, four species of shell and 23-carat gold leaf.


Sally Pryor

Sally Pryor

Features Editor

As features editor at The Canberra Times, I love telling people things they didn't know - or even things they've always known - about the city we live in.