filikli - cm 590x123/ft 19.3x4.0 Datable early 20th century. Angora wool. You need to have at least a loft for this long wonder! This is an unusually big & beautiful filikli rug or kilim, as u want to call it. It's great, fantastic, very scenic,….a killer! If you own a loft u must buy it, if u don't, u can hang it anywhere or simply use it on the floor or on a sofa, wherever.... There is an interesting article about Filikli written by a famous Istanbul dealer, artist, architect, hotel owner, a very eclectic human being…. Celal Vardarsuyu thank you Celal. This unique wonder is available emailing to carlokocman@gmail.com The filikli spreads were woven till 30 or 40 years ago in areas where the filik or Angora goats were bred. These areas were: Balikesir, Afyon, villages of Ankara, Konya-Karapinar, Obruk, Sultanhan, Eregli, Sivas, Maras and Adiyaman. But in places like Eregli, Obruk, Amarat, Yesilova, Ilgin and Cihanbeyli textile weaving of this hair was a must. In these areas the filiks were woven in three or four pieces each piece measuring about 60 centimeters in width and two to two and a half meters in length. Each piece would then be dyed in different colors. These pieces would be stitched together to produce spreads used for wall decorations, bed covers, or sit-on rugs. Some filiks were also woven as single pieces about the size of a quarter carpet or a prayer rug. Some of these single pieces can also be found to bear patterns. These patterns would consist of basic geometric designs which can be found in nature or prominent designs which have often been used in weaving. a filikli weave is made up of warp and wefts and of tufting of 20 to 25 centimeter long bundles of kid fiber attached to the warps and wefts with Gordes knots. Filik denotes the locks of hair on the sides of kid mohair goats. Most of the time the kids are white in color. Till about 20 or 30 years ago, the milk and the coat of these animals was the sole source of income in the above mentioned areas. In recent years however the population of these beautiful animals has dwindled and now faces extinction. As the high fashion world had a demand for the kid mohair fibers an attempt was made to set up cooperative stations in Anatolia to rebreed these animals but the quality of filiks of the new offsprings could never match the quality of those which were bred in their natural habitat. Therefore if one comes across a filikli type of weave he can be sure that it is at least 30 to 40 years old. This is also to say that filikli weaving stopped 30 to 40 years ago. But until 3 to 4 years ago these weaves were far from having a commercial value at all. At those times the filik weaves were of more interest to academicians of ethnographical textiles and to those who were involved in arts. With the onset of minimalist trends in home decorations, this rare textile product was seen as a new decoration material by interior designers of new times. They were soon to become popular in the western world in particular in the usa and Japan, used in conformity with their original purposes, utilized as floor coverings; wall decorations; table spreads; furniture covers; bed spreads and even as curtaining material. Academician Mary Houston in her book titled Ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian and Persian Costume, published in 1924, writes of a Sumerian king and his daughter wearing a fleece of very long hair denoting aristocracy. Also archeologist Leonard Walley has mentioned findings of pieces of clothing bearing Gordes knots in his excavations in city of Ur in Mesopotamia. In the British Museum a tablet registered under the inventory number 120201, dating back to 2600 b.c., there can be 37 human figures each wearing clothes made of filik hair and woven in present filikli techniques. As these academicians and findings suggest, these weaves are as old as the history of Anatolia. The Anatolian folk who initially used just the fleece and later switched to weaving which resembled the fleece which later was utilized as a household durable and as a painting frame whenever necessary. i personally have heard with my very own ears the surprise statements of many western artists upon seeing these pieces. During my 20 year interest in carpets altogether, i also have heard from many carpet experts that the fingers which have woven these filiks are no less able than those of painters like Rothko or Klee; or may have had more artistic concerns. i could see the light of affection – which one might give to a relative whom they have not seen since their childhood – in the eyes of Rifat Dedeoglu, the editor of this magazine and photographer Ergun Candemir when they came to photograph the filiklis in my shop. i personally hope that the subject of this article gives the necessary message. To the artists, textile manufacturers, academicians and of course merchants of the Grand Bazaar. Celaleddin vardarsuyu