Turkish Handmade Carpets

Turkish Handmade Carpets: A Legendary Art Knotted Through Time

Introduction: The Turkish Carpet as a Work of Art
Turkish handmade carpets are not merely floor coverings; they are the knotted and woven embodiment of a nation’s aesthetic sensibility, mathematics, faith, and philosophy of life. Each knot is an emotion; each motif is a story. In this article, we will discover in all its detail how this ancient art, thousands of years old, was born, through what laborious and patient processes it came to life, and why they are the world’s most valuable and sought-after carpets.

Historical Origins: A Cultural Journey from Central Asia to Anatolia

• The Birth of Turkish Carpet Art
  The traces of Turkish carpet weaving date back to the 4th-5th centuries BC, to the foothills of the Altai Mountains and the Hun and Scythian nomadic communities. The oldest known example is the “Pazyryk Carpet” (3rd-5th century BC). This unique work, found frozen in the Siberian permafrost, is woven with the Turkish knot technique (Ghiordes/Double knot) and is concrete proof of the Turks’ millennia-old supremacy in the art of carpet weaving.
  With migrations into Anatolia (11th century), this art created a magnificent synthesis by interacting with new cultures in a new geography. The Seljuk period was the golden age of geometric patterns and symbolic language. The Ottoman period, especially the 16th-century “classical period” carpets, represents the pinnacle of floral motifs, refined compositions, and elegance. Patterns drawn in the palace design workshops were brought to life in weaving centers such as Hereke, Uşak, Gördes, Ladik, and Bergama.

The Genesis of a Handmade Carpet: The Laborious Journey from Nature to Loom
Weaving a carpet requires collective patience, individual mastery, and a deep connection with nature. Here are the stages in the creation of a Turkish carpet:

1. Sourcing and Preparation of Raw Materials
   The Story of Wool:
   • Selection: For carpet wool, indigenous breeds (Akkaraman, Morkaraman, Dağlıç) are preferred. The wool of these sheep is long-fibered, durable, and has a high natural oil (lanolin) content, which gives the carpet flexibility, sheen, and water resistance.
   • Shearing: Done carefully in spring, without harming the animal.
   • Washing and Degreasing: The wool is washed with natural soap and warm water, sometimes even trodden in rivers, to remove dirt and grease.
   • Carding: Wool fluffed up with a bow (bow string) and combs is separated into fibers. This process softens the wool and makes it easier to spin.
   • Spinning: The quietest step of the art. Using a drop spindle (çıkrık) or spindle, experienced hands twist, pull, and create the yarn—the first raw material of the artwork. Hand-spinning gives the yarn a vibrancy, variation in thickness, and character that mechanical spinning cannot.
     Silk and Cotton:
   • Silk: Used for luxury carpets in centers like Hereke and Sivas. Threads delicately unwound from silkworm cocoons provide incredible sheen and softness.
   • Cotton: Used for warp (vertical threads) and weft (horizontal threads). Adds strength and dimensional stability.
2. The Magic of Colors: Root Dyes from Nature’s Palette
   What makes Turkish carpets immortal are their unfading colors that become even more beautiful with the passing years. This is entirely the work of natural root dyes.
   • Gathering: Master dyers gather the correct part of the plant (root, leaf, flower, bark) in the correct season.
   • Preparation: Plants are dried, ground, or broken into pieces.
   • Mordanting (Şaplama): The yarns are soaked in substances called mordants (alum, vinegar, whey) that help the dye adhere. This is the secret to the colors of Turkish carpets remaining vibrant even centuries later.
   • Dyeing: A boiling process in copper cauldrons over a wood fire, sometimes lasting for days. The master controls the temperature and duration to determine the shade. The same plant can yield different tones due to the mineral content of water in different regions.
     Legendary Colors and Their Sources:
   • Red: Madder root (Rubia tinctorum). Known as “Turkish Red,” the world’s most sought-after color.
   • Blue: Indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria).
   • Yellow: Saffron, onion skin, chamomile.
   • Green: A mixture of yellow and blue.
   • Brown/Black: Walnut shell, acorn, sumac.
3. Pattern and Composition: The Secret Language of Symbols
   Each motif is a word, the composition is a sentence. Turkish carpet patterns are the pinnacle of the art of abstraction.
   • Fertility and Abundance: Elibelinde, pomegranate, tree of life.
   • Protection and Power: Ram’s horn, amulet, wolf track, scorpion.
   • Love and Devotion: Earring, comb, fetter.
   • Eternity and Faith: Waterway, oil lamp, depiction of the Kaaba cover.
   • Happiness and Unity: Star, starflower.
     Patterns are woven at the loom from memory or without pattern papers (karşık). This demonstrates the power of the master’s art and memory.
4. The Heart of Weaving: Months Spent at the Loom
   Loom (Istar/Düzenek):
   • Wooden, portable, or fixed structures. The weaver sits before the loom with the warp threads stretched taut.
     Weaving Process:

1. 1. Warping: Cotton or wool threads are stretched tightly and evenly onto the loom.
   2. Beating with the Comb (Kirkit): The kirkit is a heavy comb made of wood or metal. After each row of knots is tied, it is beaten tightly with the kirkit to compact the knots and ensure the carpet’s durability. This is the most tiring step, requiring physical strength and rhythm.
   3. Knotting: The Essence of the Art:
      • Turkish (Ghiordes/Double) Knot: The yarn is knotted by winding it double around two warp threads. This technique provides denser, more durable, and symmetrical patterns. The knots stand more upright on the carpet surface.
      • A weaver can tie 8,000 to 10,000 knots per day. A square meter of a quality carpet contains between 250,000 and 1,000,000 knots.
   4. Edging (Çitileme): The edges of the carpet are braided to strengthen them.
   5. Cutting and Finishing: When the weaving is complete, the carpet is taken off the loom, its pile is trimmed with scissors (shearing), and it is washed and dried.
      This process can take a weaver from 3 to 12 months per square meter of carpet.

The Unique Place of the Turkish Carpet in World Carpet Weaving: A Comparative Look
There are other great carpet traditions in the world, each a valuable expression of its own culture. However, Turkish carpets exhibit distinct characteristics in terms of technique, aesthetics, and durability:

Why is the Turkish Carpet Considered “The Most Valuable”?
This is not a claim of superiority, but a result of objective artistic and technical characteristics:

1. Technical Superiority: The double knot makes the carpet more durable. It is less likely to unravel, and patterns are sharper. It can withstand centuries of use.
2. Aesthetic Abstraction: Rather than copying nature as it is, the Turkish carpet abstracts it, transforming it into a geometric language. This moves it beyond being a mere decorative element, making it a forerunner of modern art. Many Western artists (like Kandinsky) drew inspiration from Turkish carpets.
3. Symbolic Depth: Every motif has a meaning. The carpet is a diary, a prayer, a poem that tells of the weaver’s experiences, hopes, and fears.
4. Permanence of Colors: The tradition of natural root dyes and mordanting ensures colors remain unfading for hundreds of years. The red in an antique Turkish carpet is as vibrant as on the first day.
5. Collector’s Value: Antique Turkish carpets (16th-19th century Uşak, Lotto, Holbein, Seljuk carpets) are exhibited in the world’s leading museums (Louvre, V&A, MET) and fetch record prices at auctions. This is a value recognized by universal art circles.

Turkish Handmade Carpet Weaving Today: Tradition and Future

• Living Heritage and Modern Interpretations
  • Traditional Production: Production continues using traditional methods in family workshops and cooperatives in centers such as Konya, Sivas, Kayseri, Hereke, Isparta, and Demirci.
  • Designer Carpets: Turkish carpet companies, combining traditional knotting techniques with contemporary patterns and colors, are leaders in world markets.
  • UNESCO and Preservation: The “Turkish Carpet Weaving Tradition” has been nominated for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. Masters are supported through the “Living Human Treasures” program.

Conclusion: An Art Worth a Lifetime
When you touch a Turkish handmade carpet, you do not just feel the softness of wool; you feel the warmth of a heart, the labor of a lifetime, and the accumulation of a civilization. These carpets are not easily woven. Each one exists through the light of the eyes, the work of hands, the sweat of the brow, and the patience of the heart. This is why their place among the most valuable examples of textile art ever produced in the world is indisputable. What makes them valuable is not only their technical perfection or aesthetic beauty, but the human values they carry and their spirit that defies time. Our responsibility is not just to buy or own this art, but to understand it and carry it into the future.