The Rug Thread

Your thread for all things rug.

I'm currently in the market for a rug... An old mate of mine was an antique rug restorer/dealer, he offered me a free one but we never got around to doing the deal, much regret...

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@tinakino I have managed to get my qashqa’i kilim back from ex wife last week after an 8 year battle.. just received assessment for cleaning and repair from RL Rose, quote was ridiculously expensive, but it is vintage circa 1940s and frankly priceless.

When it's home again I'll photograph insitu..

managed to get my qashqai kilim back from ex wife last week after an 8 year battle.

..nice!

🙂

I don’t know whether it’s my Turkish heritage but there is something special and remarkable about the kilim I have inherited from my mother.

The kilim is at least 80 years old according to the company cleaning and repairing it. The kilim has been neglected for some time. I can’t afford a full restoration (£3.5k) so a repair using traditional method is planned after cleaning. Basically to prevent fraying and loosening up of the weave. It will therefore express wear and tear once back home, with suitable care and attention could last another 80 years, its value restored, its statement as durable artwork to enjoy.

The commercialisation of kilim production which started in the 1940s lost the uniqueness attributed to nomadic tribal life. My kilim originates from the prolific weavers of the Qashqa’i. I will explain as best as I know what my kilim represents. I’m no expert, but I understand there is Islamic, animalistic and shamanic references associated with kilim design. Among its origins lies a symbology and language only those clans which still survive will truly understand and acknowledge. I will have to base my understanding on the reference books written by western scholars that I can access.

So Kilim in Turkish, Gelim in Persian, no doubt there are other spellings from the Caucasus mountains to Afghanistan and North Africa.

• The Origins Of Traditional & Kilim Rugs
  Kilim is a Turkish word that translates to ‘textile without piles’. This textile is produced using a flat weave technique that is also used by artisans in Turkey, the Caucasus, China, North Africa, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Central Asia. While you can say Kilim rugs are Oriental rugs, most rug connoisseurs acknowledge that Kilims are a class of their own.

• How Kilim Rugs Are Made
  It is the weaving technique that made a Kilim different from a traditional rug. These rugs are made using a flat weaving technique, which explains the lack of pile. This makes the rug lightweight and reversible.

• Traditional rugs are made using power loom and hence, they can be woven quickly. On the other hand, Kilim rugs are handwoven and this makes it a tedious and time-consuming process.

• Kilim rugs are more expensive compared to traditional rugs as they are handmade and no rugs have the same design. In fact, when you buy a Kilim, you are purchasing a piece of unique art.

• Kilim rugs are more durable than traditional rugs as they are made using natural fibers and dyes. Of course, traditional or machine-made rugs can also last a long time, as long as they are made with quality raw materials and you put in an effort to maintain them.

• The unique, flat-weaving technique makes Kilims completely different from traditional rugs. Kilim are pileless while traditional rugs will have piles of varying lengths.

They really are gorgeous and fascinating - I have a couple of small ones from travelling in Turkey many years ago - from the Konya area, they really warm up a house.

Indeed, I’m putting parquet flooring down ground floor these will add some warmth in the winter months under foot.

Please post pics. Konya designs are gorgeous btw ;)

I’m looking for a runner for my hallway, still open to ideas, and this post will change a few times. Edit: Right now I have this from Afyon, Turkey

the hallway will have a lot of foot traffic / bikes so I don’t need to spend a fortune

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That is really nice!

While we're at it - in case anybody from Berlin reads this - there's a small but very nice shop in the Prezlauer Berg district selling Kilim's and a couple of other woven things, called Wild Heart Free Soul.
Do recommend a visit if you're in the area!

https://www.wildheartfreesoul.com

Some great rugs there @tinakino

https://www.yashar-bish.com/rug-motifs-symbols-and-meaning.html

Loads of familiar symbols here, I also love the fact that the cuff motif indicates marriage, because in Spanish

esposas = handcuffs
La sposa = wife

My kilims have returned home today, cleaned, secured edges, patched up holes. Here is the qasha’i, with its striking chequer border and internal panels which I think represent one notable clan.

The traditional nomadic Qashqa’i travelled with their flocks twice yearly to and from the summer highland pastures north of Shiraz roughly 480 km or 300 miles south to the winter pastures on lower (and warmer) lands near the Persian Gulf, to the southwest of Shiraz.

The majority, however, have now become partially or wholly sedentary. The trend towards settlement has been increasing markedly since the 1960s. I suspect that this coincides with the mass production of kilims as a form of income away from their nomadic pastoral life

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This is the Moroccan kilim, dated from the 1960s, the arrow / mountain border panels are the features that I fell in love with. I still have no knowledge about its origin nor symbology, but I am guessing typically this could have been a wedding present with motifs around fertility, protection, abundance. However, I am stunned about this ones valuation. Ten times more than I paid 6 years ago in Essaouira, which could be attributed to its uniqueness. This one is not reversible

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I think both of them are very nice!

Thanks @tinakino I’m glad to have them back. The dining room and hallway are still like a building site. Once complete these will be laid out in all their glory. The qashqai kilim is 3m by 1.8m, the long edges were nibbled by our pet rabbit, he certainly added his personality to that piece 😂😂😂

They look great, really nice patterns, symbols and colours. Can’t wait to see the in-situ photos of them in time to come

Bought a couple of Afghan kilims today, they're lovely and so cheap for a handmade thing... I grabbed a couple of Afghan rugs last year, love them... I've always been into rugs for some reason...

Waiting on a new bit of furniture for the front room so will be getting something much bigger for in there, looking forward to picking up something beautiful!

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@>>>>>> your kilims are ace, thanks for posting. Happy hunting for your front room.

Many years ago circa 1990 my then GF and I went to an Afghan restaurant in Putney, the interior was pretty cool, whitewashed walls, timber floors, plain dining table, dining chairs clad in yak fur. On the walls were a pair of ancient snow shoes, climbing paraphernalia and Afghan war rugs just a few square yards in size. I asked the owner about the rugs, he explained that they were like modern day Bayeaux Tapestries depicting a narrative of soviet occupation with military hardware from AK47s, helicopters, tanks captured or felled by the mujahideen (liberators)

The Afghan tradition of kilims and piled rugs is centuries old, what you have is testimony to that.

I just love the idea that recent history also played a part within their weaving heritage even in those remote mountain regions held and won by the Afghan people.

btw the food at that Putney restaurant was incredible.

/csb

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/shortcuts/gallery/2015/feb/03/drones-ak-47s-and-grenades-afghan-war-rugs

Those are cool they go for big money with collectors. Here’s some more: https://warrug.com/

Thanks for sharing, that link has some great information, especially the detail around structure and weaving technique universal to all kilims.

With my Qashqa’i kilim I wanted to understand the build up of the ends and why the fringes were cut short. on closer inspection both fringes were completely redone as part of the repair. I suppose these need to be most resilient to wear and tear.

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I had asked RL Rose to take before and after photos, unfortunately I didn’t get these.

Thanks @EstelleGetty, I will get some photos on here when the rooms are complete. This was taken at the repair shop, so that you get a sense of the scale 3050 x 1750mm

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wow