Soumak Kelim | 131 x 84 cm | Nr. Z-1415

Soumak Kelim, cream white with diamonds and border

Origin	Persia
Dimensions	131 cm x 84 cm (= 1.10 m²)
Construction	hand-woven
Material	Weft (pile): wool Warp: wool
Pile height	10mm
Year of manufacture	1970
Colour	Cream white, dark red
Edition	one-of-a-kind piece

Origin

Bright colours and simple patterns – that is what Kelims are known for. Kelims (also written 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, their patterns – however naive they may look – always carry a personal message and hold meaning for the weavers and their families.

In Europe, Kelims from Turkey, the Caucasus region, Iran, Afghanistan and the Turkmen cultural area are particularly well known and popular. In fact, rugs are hand-woven in every country where rugs are knotted.

The name Soumak is said to go back to the eastern Caucasian town of Shemakha, home – so the legend goes – to the most graceful dancers in the Caucasus. Another theory derives the name from the spice sumac, which was used among other things to dye wool a reddish tone. In Persia, the wrapping technique of Soumak Kelims is also called peech baff or kayegh. The oldest known Soumak Kelims were woven in the 7th century BC.

Pattern

In the pattern of this Soumak Kelim it is above all the diamonds that stand out. A diamond is a rhombus standing on one of its points, and in the Oriental rug its four equal sides can be serrated, outlined 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 ornate border forms a wonderful contrast with the centre and shapes the transition at the edge of the rug.

The overall impression is dominated by cream white and dark red. The border is worked in light red, cream white and terracotta.

Material

Soumak Kelims are hand-woven and consist only of warp and weft threads. So they have no thick pile standing upright. The weft threads that form the pile of this Soumak are made of wool. Wool was used for the warp threads too. In the so-called wrapping technique used to make Soumak Kelims, the protruding weft ends are not fed back in and often hang loose on the reverse of the Soumak Kelims. That is why Soumak Kelims – unlike many other Kelims – can only be used on one side. Soumaks also lack the slits typical of many kinds of Kelim, since an additional weft thread is usually woven in as a continuous carrier.