Turkish Carpets
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.
The geographical regions where Turks
have lived throughout the centuries lie in the temperate zone. Temperature fluctuations
between day and night, summer and winter may vary greatly. Turks-nomadicor pastoral,
agrarian or town-dwellers, living in tents or in sumptuous houses in large cities-have
protected themselves from the extremes of the cold weather by covering the floors, and
sometimes walls and doorways, with carpets. The carpets are always hand made of wool or
sometimes cotton, with occasional additions of silk. These carpets are natural barriers
against the cold. The flat woven kilims which are frequently embroidered are used as
blankets, curtains, and covers over sofas or as cushion covers.
In general, Turks take their shoes off
upon entering a house. Thus, the dust and dirt of the outdoors are not tracked inside.The
floor coverings remain clean, and the inhabitants of the house, if need be, can
comfortably rest on the floor. In the traditional households, women and girls take up
carpet and kilim weaving as a hobby as well as a means of earning money. Even
technological advances which promoted factory-made carpets could not hamper the production
of rug weaving at cottage-industry level. Although synthetic dyes have been in use for the
last 150 years, hand made carpets are still considered far superior to industrial
carpeting.
Turkish carpets are among the most
sought after household items all over the world. Their rich colors, warm tones, and
extraordinary patterns with traditional motifs have contributed to the status that Turkish
carpets have maintained since the 13th century. Marco Polo, who traveled through Anatolia
in the late 13th century, commented on the beauty and artistry of the carpets. A number of
carpets from this period, known as the Seljuk carpets, werediscovered in several mosques
in central Anatolia. These were under many layers of subsequently placed carpets. The
Seljuk carpets are today in the museums in Konya and Istanbul. It is very exciting to
imagine that we may be looking at the very same carpets that Marco Polo praised in the
year 1272.
Turkish carpets in the 15th and 16th
centuries are best known through European paintings. For example, in the works of Lotto
(15th century Italian painter) and Holbein (16th century Germanpainter), Turkish carpets
are seen under the feet of the Virgin Mary, or in secular paintings, on tables. In the
17th century, when the Netherlands became a powerful mercantile country, Turkish carpets
graced many Dutch homes. The Dutch painter Vermeer represented Turkish carpets
predominantly to indicate the high economic and social status of the persons in his
paintings. "Turkey carpets," as they were known, were too valuable to be put on
floors, except under the feet of the Holy Mother and royalty.
Anyone who enters a mosque has to take
off his/her shoes. The mosque is the common house of a Muslim community, therefore, shoes
are cast off before the door. Moreover, the ritual of prayer requires the faithful to
kneel and touch the ground with one's forehead in humility before God. There are no chairs
or benches in a mosque, only carpets. A Turkish mosque is often covered "from wall to
wall" with several layers of carpets. To deed a carpetto a mosque is an act of piety
and many Muslims do so. Prayer carpets that are small enough to be carried easily
accompany many Muslim travelers. The Muslim, wherever he or she is, upon determining the
direction of the Ka'aba in Mecca, lays down the prayer carpetand through the ritual of
prayers communicates directly with God.
The Turkish carpets have exuberant
colors, motifs, and patterns. No two carpets are the same; each one is a creation from
anew. Because traditionally women have woven the carpets, this is one art form that is
rarely appreciated as being the work of a known or a specific artist. Nevertheless, the
Turkish women silently continue to create some of the most stunning examples of works of
art to be distributed all over Turkey and the world.
Ulku Bates, Ph.D., Professor of Art History, Hunter College, New York City
