Old Adana Kilim Southern Anatolian Carpet Turkish Rug

About the Item

This is a Southern Anatolian made in two halves of old Kilim from the Adana region with a rare and beautiful color composition. Adana Situated in the fertile Çukurova plain (previously known as the Cilician plain, through which the Seyhan and Ceyhan rivers run), Adana is a busy industrial and agricultural center. The region has always benefited from its location on the Arab and Anatolian trade routes by controlling the passes through the Taurus Mountains to Syria. A Hittite settlement existed there from 1400 BC and the land was conquered by Alexander the Great in the fourth century BC. From the late thirteenth century to the eighteenth century Adana was ruled by the Turkoman Ramazan dynasty, succeeded in turn by Ottoman rule. Large kilims made in two halves often have medallions of various shapes hexagonal diamonds, for example - as a main feature, whereas others have small and repetitive motifs, such as a hooked diamond shape enclosed within a hexagon, filling the main field. Single borders are usually found on both large and small kilims. The small kilims differ widely in design; amongst others, some prayer-arch kilims and some with hexagonal hooked motifs can be seen. Kilims continue to be woven in the villages of the Adana region that are made according to the weavers' taste, and as with other modern village kilims, the colors need the benefit of two months' sun-fading to become saleable. The Adana region produces much cotton, and its kilims often have cotton warps. Cotton is also used for color contrast in both border and field, where reds, pink, orange, green, purple, and blue fading to grey are also common. The older kilims are of medium- and fine-spun wool whereas the modern kilims are becoming very coarse and loosely woven. Slitweave is the prevalent weaving technique in the area. On the far west tip of the Cilician plain, south-west of Adana and close to the Mediterranean Sea, the town of Silifke was founded in the third century BC by the Alexandran general Seleucus Nicator, who established the Seleucid dynasty that ruled Syria. Silifke is also known as the place where Emperor Frederick Barbarossa met his demise during the Third Crusade, by falling off his horse into the river! Kilims made in this region are normally small or medium in size. Yastiks and çuval are also woven in çiçim, zili, and weft-wrapping techniques. The design often consists of a thin elibelinde mother-goddess motif repeated in different colors in vertical lines - this creates an interesting three-dimensional effect. Colors used include red, brown, orange, pink, some blue and green, and white cotton.

Dimensions:

Width: 66.93 in (170 cm)Length: 141.74 in (360 cm)

Style:

Kilim (In the Style Of)

Materials and Techniques:

Natural Fiber,Wool,Hand-Knotted,Hand-Woven

Place of Origin:

Turkey

Period:

Mid-20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1950