The merchant’s road ends at the sea

Both my grandfather and father were well-known merchants in Afghanistan. They instilled in me an appreciation of our country’s tribal art — and, in particular, a deep love for the beautiful rugs that are still hand-woven by families using traditional methods more than 4,000 years old.

— Sadiq Tawfiq

In 1980, Sadiq brought that inheritance to a storefront on South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach and named it for the mountain pass his ancestors’ caravans crossed between Afghanistan and the subcontinent. Forty-five years later, Khyber Pass Gallery remains what it was on the first day: one man’s collection, gathered by hand.

Every piece in the gallery — every rug, every silver necklace, every carved door and copper teapot — was selected and imported by Sadiq himself as he traveled through the East, meeting the artists in the regions and villages where they live and work. Nothing arrives on a pallet. Each object comes with its account: who wove it, where, and how its patterns carry the history of a people.

A recognized authority on tribal art, Sadiq believes strongly in the power of art to build bridges of cultural understanding. He lectures regularly at schools and universities, and Hollywood has borrowed his eye more than once — he served as technical advisor on Rambo III and Three Kings, and the gallery’s pieces have dressed film sets and productions across California.

The gallery’s mission has never changed: to preserve and share the artistry, history, and craftsmanship of Persian and Afghan culture — through the collection, and through the appraisal, cleaning, and restoration services that keep these works alive for the next generation.

The doors themselves are part of the collection. One of them was made in the year 1500. Come see it.