Old Kelim | 193 x 154 cm | Nr. Z-4615

Mottled old Kelim, light red with diamonds

Origin	Turkey
Dimensions	193 cm x 154 cm (= 2.97 m²)
Construction	hand-woven
Material	Weft (pile): wool (hand-spun, natural dyes) Warp: goat wool (hand-spun, natural dyes)
Pile height	3mm
Year of manufacture	1940
Colour	Light red, curry
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Glowing colours and simple, geometric patterns – that is what makes Kelims loved all over the world. Kelims (also Kilim, Qilim) were traditionally made only for the weavers' own use. Nomads and farmers used, and still use, their Kelims as rugs on the floor, but also as tent or wall hangings, blankets, cushions or bags. Because Kelims were constant companions in everyday life, the patterns – however naive they may look – always carry a personal message and hold meaning for the weavers and their families.

In Europe it is above all Kelims from Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan and the Turkmen cultural region that are known and loved. In fact, rugs are hand-woven in every country where rugs are knotted. This old Kelim is around 80 years old and a genuine collector's piece.

Pattern

The surface of this Kelim has a mottled look. The shifts in tone and the light-and-dark shading of the pile yarn make the colours shimmer and keep the rug forgiving of dirt. These so-called colour shifts, abrash, give the rug a livelier feel. The mottling comes about because the wool of this Kelim was hand-spun. During dyeing, the natural pigments are absorbed to differing degrees.

In the pattern of this Kelim it is the diamonds that stand out most. A diamond is a rhombus standing on one of its points, and in the Oriental rug its four equal sides can be serrated, stepped or set with hooks. The diamond is one of the oldest basic forms in the Oriental rug. In the Islamic world it carries a symbolic meaning: it stands for the immortality of the soul. That is why it is so often found as a filler motif.

The background of this Kelim is light red.

Condition

You aren't the first to take a liking to this Kelim. It had owners before you who valued it and lived with it. It was hand-woven around 1940. It has been thoroughly cleaned and is in good but only partly restored condition. The rug shows several smaller stained spots. One edge has been repaired somewhat unprofessionally. The repair isn't a very authentic one, but it holds and hardly catches the eye. We haven't fully restored this Kelim, because we feel it has a special charm just as it is. If you'd rather we did, we'll of course be happy to carry the restoration further for you. We can bring almost any rug back to near-perfect condition.

Material

Kelims are hand-woven and consist only of warp and weft threads, so they have no thick pile standing upright. Kelims show the same pattern on both sides and can therefore be used either way up. The pattern is created by the coloured weft threads woven into the warp threads. For every new colour, a new thread has to be used in each row. The thread ends are worked in as the weaving goes along.

The weft threads of this Kelim rug are made of hand-spun sheep's wool dyed with plant dyes. Before the rug was woven, sheep were first shorn and the wool was then cleaned, combed and finally spun. After spinning, the wool for Kelim rugs is dyed with natural dyes in an elaborate process. Because of this traditional method, the pile of Kelim rugs feels dry and slightly furry. The warp threads of this Kelim are goat wool, hand-spun, natural dyes.