ANTIQUE CARPETS
Most Significant Carpet
Regions in Turkey
Turkish carpets are sometimes called Anatolian . They have a very ancient history . The very term " Anatolian carpets " is used to describe carpets from the region of Asia Minor and nearby regions . Historically , this peninsula was the place of the most important historical events , the rise and fall of civilizations and great empires , including the Seljuk and Great Ottoman empires . Every culture on this peninsula influenced the culture which is now called modern Turkish culture .
Carpet weaving has become a kind of reflection of this mutual influence and enrichment . Sometimes in the drawings you can see hints of Byzantine , Islamic , Persian or Mongolian art . The development of carpet weaving in this region was also connected with nomadic way of life , which is popular nowadays in some regions of Turkey .
A generalizing feature of Anatolian carpets is that most of them are woven in a symmetrical knot , which sometimes it is also called giordes or turkbuff , as well as frequently used patterns : prayer niches , geometric motives . It is difficult to distinguish carpets of one tribe from another , but they can be recognised as a regional group by colour , texture , weaving technique and motives .
We offer our readers to look at the main carpet centres in Turkey , where carpets are still being woven . The most significant have brief characteristics . We would like to thank Turkish researchers of antique carpet in Turkey Ismail Kai and Hussein Kaplan for their help in this article .
KONYA
They use shiny light wool , high cut . Weaving is quite dense .
Konya carpets have a variety of iconography , although abstract and geometric shapes are more common . Among ornamental motifs there are octagonal stars , rhombuses , rectangles , octagons in vertical rows along the central field .
Checked pastel colours of the past are changed for rawer and coarser colours . The most common are bright yellow , green , various shades of red , rare tones of violet , blue and white .
DECEMBER ’ 21 C A R P E T 17