Editing Kilim

{{short description|Flat tapestry-woven carpet}}
{{Redirect|Kelim|the Mishnaic tractate|Keilim|the use of the term in Kabbalah|Ohr}}
[[File:Hotamis Kilim.jpg|thumb|Hotamis Kilim (detail), central [[Anatolia]], early 19th century]]

A '''kilim''' (  {{langx|fa|گلیم}} {{Transliteration|fa|gilīm}} {{langx|az|kilim}} {{lang|azb|کیلیم}}; {{langx|tr|kilim}}; {{langx|tk|kilim}} ) is a flat [[tapestry]]-[[weaving|woven]] [[carpet]] or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former [[Persian Empire]], including [[Iran]], but also in the [[Balkans]] and the Turkic countries.

Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as [[prayer rug]]s. Modern kilims are popular floor coverings in Western households.

==Etymology==

The word 'kilim' originates from the [[Persian language|Persian]] {{Transliteration|fa|galīm}} ({{lang|fa|گلیم}}) where it means 'to spread roughly',<ref name="DigardBier">{{cite book |author1=Digard, Jean-Pierre |author2=Bier, Carol |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/carpets-v |title=Carpets v. Flat-woven carpets: Techniques and structures |publisher=Encyclopedia Iranica |edition=Online |date=1996 |quote= In Persia this structure is called gelīm (Turk. kilim).}}</ref> perhaps of [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] or [[Aramaic|Aramean]] origin.<ref>{{cite web |work=American Heritage Dictionary |url=http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=kilim |title=Kilim}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Gelim khorramabad.JPG|thumb|Gilim Iran museum]]
[[File:Ali MTM.jpg|thumb|Modern galim]]
Like [[Pile weave|pile]] carpets, kilim have been produced since ancient times. The explorer [[Aurel Stein|Mark Aurel Stein]] found kilims dating to at least the fourth or fifth century CE in [[Hotan]], China:

:"As kilims are much less durable than rugs that have a pile to protect the [[warp and weft]], it is not surprising that few of great age remain.... The [[Weaving|weave]] is almost identical with that of modern kilims, and has about fourteen threads of warp and sixteen threads of weft to the inch. The pattern consists of narrow stripes of blue, green, brownish yellow, and red, containing very small geometric designs. With this one exception, so peculiarly preserved, there are probably very few over a century old."<ref>Hawley, Walter A. ''Oriental Rugs Antique & Modern''. (1913). Reprint (1970): Dover Publications, New York, N.Y., p. 278.</ref>

==Weaving technique==

[[File:Kilim slit weave.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Diagram of kilim slit weave technique, showing how the weft threads of each color are wound back from the color boundary, leaving a slit]]

Kilims are produced by tightly interweaving the [[Warp (weaving)|warp]] and [[weft]] strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. Kilim weaves are tapestry weaves, technically weft-faced plain weaves, that is, the horizontal weft strands are pulled tightly downward so that they hide the vertical warp strands.<ref>"Carpets v. Flat-woven carpets: Techniques and structures", ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/carpets-v]</ref>

[[File:Kilim slits between coloured areas.JPG|thumb|Turkish kilim, folded to show slits between different coloured areas]]

When the end of a color boundary is reached, the weft yarn is wound back from the boundary point. Thus, if the boundary of a field is a straight vertical line, a vertical slit forms between the two different color areas where they meet. For this reason, most kilims can be classed as "slit woven" textiles. The slits are beloved by collectors, as they produce very sharp-etched designs, emphasizing the [[Mathematics and fiber arts|geometry of the weave]]. Weaving strategies for avoiding slit formation, such as interlocking, produce a more blurred design image.<ref name=DaviesWeaving>Davies, 2000 {{page needed|date=December 2015}}</ref>

The weft strands, which carry the visible design and color, are almost always wool, whereas the hidden warp strands can be either wool or cotton. The warp strands are only visible at the ends, where they emerge as the fringe. This fringe is usually tied in bunches, to ensure against loosening or unraveling of the weave.<ref name=DaviesWeaving/>{{Clear}}

{{anchor|Kilim motifs}}

== Motifs ==

{{main|Kilim motifs}}

[[File:Turkish carpet.jpg|thumb|Detail of a Turkish kilim, illustrating usage of several [[kilim motifs]]]]

Many motifs are used in Turkish kilims, each with many variations. A few examples are illustrated here, with meanings as described by Güran Erbek in ''Kilim''.<ref name=Erbek>{{cite book |author=Erbek, Güran |title=Kilim Catalogue No. 1 |publisher =May Selçuk A. S. Edition=1st |date=1998}}</ref> A widely used motif is the [[elibelinde]], a stylized female figure representing motherhood and [[fertility]].<ref name="kilim">{{cite web | url=http://www.kilim.com/about_kilims/motifs/hands_on_hips.asp | title=Hands on Hips - Elibelinde | access-date=24 February 2014}}</ref> Other motifs express the tribal weavers' desires for protection of their families' flocks from [[wolf|wolves]] with the wolf's mouth or the wolf's foot motif (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Kurt Aǧzi}}, {{lang|tr|Kurt İzi}}), or for safety from the sting of the [[scorpion]] (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Akrep}}). Several motifs hope for the safety of the weaver's family from the [[evil eye]] (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Nazarlık}}, also used as a motif), which could be divided into four with a cross symbol (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Haç}}), or averted with the symbol of a hook (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Çengel}}), a human eye (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Göz}}), or an [[amulet]] (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Muska}}; often, a triangular package containing a sacred verse).<ref name=Erbek/> Such an amulet woven into a rug is not a picture of the thing itself: it actually is an amulet, believed to confer protection by its presence.<ref name=Thompson>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Jon |title=Carpets from the Tents, Cottages and Workshops of Asia |date=1988 |publisher=Barrie & Jenkins |isbn=0-7126-2501-1 |page=156}}</ref>

Other motifs symbolise fertility, as with the [[Hope chest|trousseau chest]] motif (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Sandıklı}}), or the explicit fertility ({{langx|tr|Bereket|link=no}}, {{IPA|tr|beɾeket|}}) motif. The motif for running water (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Su Yolu}}) similarly depicts the resource literally. The desire to tie a family or lovers together may be depicted with a [[Legcuffs|fetter]] motif (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Bukaǧı}}). Several other motifs represent the desire for good luck and happiness, as for instance the bird (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Kuş}}) and the star or [[Polygonatum|Solomon's seal]] (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Yıldız}}). The oriental symbol of [[yin and yang]] is used for love and unison (Turkish: {{lang|tr|Aşk ve Birleşim}}).<ref name=Erbek/>

<gallery class=center mode=nolines heights="70px">
File:Elibelinde2.jpg|Hands-on-hips female figure ([[Elibelinde]]), for motherhood and [[fertility]]
File:Eye Kilim Motif.jpg|Eye (Göz), to ward off the [[evil eye]]
File:Amulet Kilim Motif.jpg|[[Amulet]] (Muska), for protection and good luck
File:Wolf's Mouth Kilim Motif.jpg|[[Wolf]]'s Mouth (Kurt Aǧzi), to protect the flocks against wolves
File:Scorpion kilim motif.jpg|[[Scorpion]] (Akrep), for protection from their stings
</gallery>

==Rugs and commerce==
[[File:Pirot kilim serbian rug.tif|thumb|A typical [[Pirot carpet|Pirot kilim]] from [[Serbia]]|upright]]
[[File:Awar Kilim.png|thumb|Late 19th century Awar kilim from the [[Caucasus]]. An unusually simple and bold design. |upright]]
Because kilims are often cheaper than pile rugs, beginning carpet collectors often start with them. Despite what many perceive as their secondary (or inferior) status to pile carpets, kilims have become increasingly collectible in themselves in recent years, with quality pieces now commanding high prices. What some sensed as inferiority was actually a different nature of rugs woven for indigenous use as opposed to rugs woven on a strictly commercial basis. Because kilims were not a major export commodity, there were no foreign market pressures changing the designs, as happened with pile carpets. Once collectors began to value authentic village weaving, kilims became popular. Three factors then combined to reduce the quality of the West's newly discovered kilims. The first was a development in industrial chemistry. An important element in the attractiveness of traditional rugs is ''abrash'', the dappled appearance resulting from variation in shade of each colour caused by hand-dyeing of the yarn. The synthetic ([[aniline]]-derived) dyes introduced late in the [[Victorian era]] abolished abrash, giving brilliant colours which however often faded with time. A second factor was the loss of the [[nomad]]ic way of life across Central Asia. Once people had settled, the tribal character of their weavings faded. A third factor was a direct consequence of the kilim's new-found marketability. As rugs began to be made for export and money rather than personal use, the local style and social significance of each type of carpet was lost. Patterns and colours were chosen to suit the market, rather than woven according to tradition and to suit the needs of the weaver's family and the weaver's own hopes and fears.<ref name=ThompsonEnd>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Jon |title=Carpets from the Tents, Cottages and Workshops of Asia |date=1988 |publisher=Barrie & Jenkins |isbn=0-7126-2501-1 |pages=62, 69–82, 84–97}}</ref>{{efn|Jon Thompson writes "In terms of carpet weaving we are observers of the very end of an ancient art form."<ref name=ThompsonEnd />}}

{{anchor|Anatolia}}

===Anatolian (Turkish)===
Perhaps the best known and most highly regarded, these kilims are traditionally distinguished by the areas, villages or cities in which they are produced, such as [[Konya]], [[Malatya]], [[Karapınar]] and Hotamis. Most Anatolian kilims are slit woven. Larger antique kilims were woven in two to three separate sections on small nomadic horizontal floor looms in three feet wide long strips, then carefully sewn together matching the patterns edges to create an ultimately wider rug. These pieces are still  produced in very limited quantities by nomadic tribes for their personal use and are commonly known as '''cicims'''.

*'''Cicim''' or '''Jijim''' or '''Jajim''' are kilims woven in narrow strips that are sewn together.<ref>{{cite book|author=Acar, B. B. |title=Kilim-Cicim, Zili-Sumak. Turkish Flatweaves |location=Istanbul |date=1983}}</ref>
*'''Zili''' is a rough supplementary-weft method used to decorate practical objects such as mats, sacks, cushions and tents.<ref>{{cite web |title=Weaving Techniques |url=https://www.kilim.com/kilim-wiki/weaving-techniques |publisher=Kilim.com |access-date=9 December 2018 |date=2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Jajim]], similar to a Kilim but more like a blanket
* [[Anatolian rug]]
* [[Chiprovtsi kilim]]
* [[Pirot carpet|Pirot kilim]]
* [[Hamid Sadighi Neiriz|Neiriz Kilim Collection]]
* [[Shahsevan rug]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Kilims}}

* {{cite book | last=Allane | first=Lee | year=1988 | title=Oriental Rugs: A Buyer's Guide | publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] | isbn=0-500-27517-3 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book | last=Davies | first=Peter | year=2000 |orig-year=1993 | title=Antique kilims of Anatolia | publisher=[[W.W. Norton & Co.]] | isbn=978-0-393-73047-0 |ref=none}} (The first edition was published by Rizzoli as ''The Tribal Eye: Antique kilims of Anatolia'', {{ISBN|978-0-8478-1705-4}})
* Landreau, Anthony N.; Pickering, W. R. (1969). ''From the Bosporus to Samarkand Flat-Woven Rugs. The Textile Museum, George Washington University.''
* Mackie, Louise; Thompson, Jon (1980). ''Turkmen: Tribal Carpets and Traditions''. The Textile Museum, George Washington University.
* {{cite book |last=Petsopoulos | first=Yanni |title=Kilims: Flat Woven Tapestry Rugs |publisher=Rizzoli |year=1979 |isbn=0-8478-0245-0 |ref=none}}

==External links==
* [http://www.weavingartmuseum.org/ex2_main.htm Weaving Art Museum: Soumak and Kelim Weaving of the Caucasus]

{{Islamic art}}
{{Rugs and carpets}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Oriental rugs and carpets]]
[[Category:Tapestries]]
[[Category:Turkish handicrafts]]