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HISTORY of CARPET

History of Carpets & Kilim Weaving

Although no one knows precisely when and where the technique of weaving first started, there is no doubt that the weaving art, in general, started in Central Asia. A popular explosion caused the inhabitants of that area to migrate to the western parts of Asia in order to find more prosperous land. These migrating tribes were called yoruks or nomadic tribes. During their migrations, these nomads, who were exposed to severe weather conditions, learned to use goat hair in the making of their tents. Goat hair is longer and much stiffer than sheep's wool. The flatweave technique was used in the making of nomadic tents.

Just as with a little girl's braided pony-tail where strands of the shorter and stiffer hair stick out, the goat hair sticks out of the woven fabric, gets wet, drops and partially cover the holes in the flatweave, thus making the tent almost waterproof. Later on, these nomadic people felt the need to isolate themselves from the humidity present in the earthen floors of their tents. They then applied the very same techniques of flatweave to the making of floor coverings and called them "Kilims". Since this was the area of paganism, most flatweave designs reflected stylised depictions of the worshipped symbols.

The oldest "surviving" pile carpets were discovered in the grave of a Sycthian prince in the Pazyryk valley of the Altai mountains in Siberia by Russian archeologist (Rudenko) in 1947 and is presently displayed in the Hermitage Museum in Leningrad. The carpet was woven with the Turkish double knot and contains a surprising 347000 knots per square meter (255 per square inch); it is 3.62 square meters (6 x 6.5 feet) and has been carbon dated to have been from the 5th. century B.C. The Pazyryk, or Altai carpet, is rather sophisticated, thereby showing that it is the product of a long history and tradition of weaving.

The culture of Turkish Rugs

Before marriage, while mastering the textile arts, young girls create the ceyiz, a dowry collection of beautiful things that will be useful in their future homes. A girl might knit socks and create a heybe, a saddlebag, for her husband to carry over his shoulder at the market. In a public display of her domestic skills; she will embroider towels and weave pillows, carpets and wallhangings. Her new home will be decorated with memories of her girlhood and family. As she looks at her kilims she will see herself and her sisters and her neighbors woven together in affection. While creating the ceyiz in youth, the weaver makes things that, if necessary, can later be sold to benefit her new family.

Except at harvest time when all hands are busy in the fields, a carpet is rising on the loom in every house, and when the sun is up, at least two women are at work. Most weaving is done by girls and women between the ages of 14 and 26 who form together in a special community of work within each neghborhood of the village.

Turkish Carpets, whether knotted or flat woven (kilim) are among the best known art forms produced by the Turks from time immemorial.

There are environmental, sociological, economic, and religious reasons for the widespread art of carpet weaving among the Turkish people from Central Asia to Turkey.

A young girl learns weaving gradually in childhood by sitting beside her mother, her sister and the other women of the village. She learns by watching and by absorbing what is going on around her. The mastero weaver must begin to learn early and build the art into her process of growth. In this way, she learns the habits of the hand that makes the work easy rather than self-conscious, and thus gains the ability for innovation and mastery.

The carpets record the friendships and events of girlhood, and when the weaver leaves, taking the carpets of her dowry with her to the village of her husband, they will remind her of these times.