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| Before
we begin to address the subject of kilim nomenclature
there is one point to be clarified, mainly for those first
entering the realm of the kilim. Although at times you may find kilims included in the
general genre of "oriental rugs", in more accepted
practice kilims are in a class of their own, and it is
then generally understood that the term "oriental
rug" refers to pile rugs, a category which includes
carpets. |
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The
difference between a kilim and a carpet or pile rug is
that whereas the design visible on the kilim is made by
interweaving the variously colored wefts and warps, thus
creating what is known as a flatweave, in a pile rug individual
short strands of different color, usually of wool, are
knotted onto the warps and held together by pressing the
wefts tightly against each other. |
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| In this case the whole
design is made by these separately knotted strands which
form the pile, and the patterns become clearly visible
after any excessive lengths of the knotted materials are
shorn off to create a level surface. |
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Having
thus differentiated between a kilim (pileless) and a carpet
(with pile) you might think that's all there's to it.
Well, not quite.All
of you - all of us - interested in the subject have wandered
the cyber byways and noticed that the seemingly simple
matter of finding the proper definition of a kilim can
lead to confusion. Let's take a look at 'kilim' entries
in two online sources generally taken for granted as reliable. |
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"Main Entry: ki·lim Pronunciation: kE-'lEm
Function: noun
Etymology: Turkish, from Persian kilIm
Date: 1881
Meaning: A pileless handwoven reversible rug or covering
made in Turkey, the Caucasus, Iran, and western Turkestan" |
The
Merriam-Webster entry reads: |
Well,
are all kilims reversible? Hardly.
What about those made in the Balkans or North Africa?
Is the etymology correct,does it come from Persian,or
is the Persian word "palas"? |
| "pileless floor covering handwoven by tapestry techniques
in Anatolia, the Balkans, or parts of Iran. In the rest
of Iran, the Caucasus, and Turkistan, the name for similar
pieces is palas. In most kilims, a slit occurs wherever
two colours meet along a vertical line in the pattern,
but in a few Karabagh or South Caucasian pieces, interlocking
methods are employed in order to minimize these slits. |
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Kilim
entry in Encyclopedia Britannica (online) reads:
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| The
Turks have produced the largest kilims, usually in two
narrow pieces joined, as well as small ones and a multitude
of prayer kilims. As a prayer rug, which is carried about
with the worshiper, the light and extremely flexible kilim
offers obvious advantages. |
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| In Turkish kilims, cotton is
often used for the white areas, and small details may
be brocaded. The kilims of the southern Balkans began
as close copies of Anatolian types but have gradually
developed into individual styles, such as the black, red,
and white kilims of Pirot. In Romania, also, there are
varied local fashions, progressively less Oriental in
colour and pattern as the distance from Turkey increases. |
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| The name kilim is also given to a variety of brocaded,
embroidered, warp-faced, and other flat-woven rugs and
bags." |
| Here
again we question: Are kilims just floor coverings? No,
some are hangings, some are bench or divan covering, etc.,
etc. Once more a trusted source of information turns out
to be at least a bit misleading.There are other definitions to be found, some much less
accurate, others quaint or curious, but their very profusion
shows that more and more people are interested in our
favorite subject, the kilim. Not many years ago the word
'kilim' wasn't even listed in an English dictionary or
encyclopedia! What's more, even today your computer spell-check
tool probably doesn't recognize kilim as a legitimate
word. Don't worry, it is. Having researched the matter in some detail in numerous
sources we have arrived at the following definition: |
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Kilim,
a word of Turkish origin, denotes a pileless textile of
many uses produced by one of several flatweaving techniques
that have a common or closely related heritage and are
practiced in the geographical area that includes parts
of Turkey (Anatolia and Thrace), North Africa, the Balkans,
the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia
and China. |
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| We
believe this definition to be correct though incomplete,
because, as all kilim lovers know, no words can convey
the romance of the kilim. We try to fill this void by
providing in these pages as much detail as possible about
the traditions, culture and heritage of kilim-making to
make the romance live - and we hope you enjoy it |
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