Vintage Turkish rugs can be quite expensive especially if you buy them from touristy places or big cities. Fortunately, intermediaries that obtain them straight from villages and professionally clean and overdye them can be found online.
Exquisite oxidized colors, posh pastels and whimsical botanical designs make them essential designer carpets for rustic spaces and palatial drawing rooms alike. They also come in multiple patterns and sizes.
Origin
Turkish rugs are renowned worldwide for their beauty, craftsmanship and artistic value. They have a long history, dating back thousands of years and are an important part of Turkey’s rich culture.
Originally, rug weaving was established as a necessity among nomadic tribes as they traveled across Anatolia (the cradle of modern day Turkey). They would use rugs to protect themselves from the elements, and later, rugs became integral pieces of their cultural identity and status.
Authentic Turkish rugs have bold color combinations achieved through natural dyes. Chemical dyes can’t match natural dyes’ subtle gradations in hue, giving rugs a softer and more subtle visual texture. Their colors also last much longer than those produced with synthetic dyes. This gives Turkish rugs a timeless aesthetic that stands the test of time.
Materials
Whether you’re looking for something to tie your space together or to add a pop of color, Turkish rugs offer an inspiring blend of hues. Woven with natural dyes, these antique rugs are durable and hold their beauty over time.
From lustrous pastels to intricately stylized arabesques, these antique Turkish rugs are the choice of designers everywhere for creating elegant and pulled-together spaces. Their unique color pairings showcase the depth of the weaving culture in Anatolia, where Turkey’s rug production first took root.
Vintage Turkish rugs are versatile and available in many different sizes. Pair a low-key oushak rug with wood accents for an organic, lived-in feel or go bold with a power-loomed rug that will hold up to high foot traffic.
Techniques
Turkish rug weavers use a wide range of weaving techniques. They create a foundation of wool and cotton yarns before dyeing them to create a design. Weavers then affix these fibers to the foundation using a series of knots.
Nomadic tribes from Turkey, Armenia and the Caucasus developed these techniques over centuries. The resulting designs have become iconic. Symbols like the wheel of fortune, the ram horn that symbolizes power and the chest that represents a bride’s dowry are incorporated into the patterns.
Antique rugs are often colored with natural dyes, which create richer hues than chemically-dyed new carpets. These hues give vintage rugs a soft visual texture and a near-shimmering quality.
Styles
Turkish rugs are a staple in many homes due to their quality and the deep artistic expression they embody. Their tight, sturdy weaves are durable enough to withstand decades of use and the natural dyes used in their construction are through-and-through, meaning they don’t come off easily or fade over time.
Weavers use color to tell stories of spiritual practices and beliefs, cultural and tribal experiences, family and ancestry and more. They use specific motifs like tree of life patterns, evil eye motifs, symbolic animals and more to create handwoven narratives of the human experience.
From low-key oushak rugs to statement pieces, vintage Turkish rugs add warmth and dimension to any space. Pair them with classic leather chairs and a wood coffee table to bring a rustic, lived-in look to your home.
Value
As nomadic tribes established rug weaving as a way of protecting themselves from the elements, it soon became an essential element of cultural identity, social recognition, and familial status. This legacy is reflected in every Turkish rug produced today.
Antique Turkish rugs are highly valued decorative pieces that can instantly tie together and elevate a space. Their natural abrash gradations, bold colors, and intricately realized medallions make them a designer go-to for embellishing spaces.
They are woven from natural materials (sheep wool) and dyed with all-natural dyes that are sustainable and durable. Authentic rugs have soft backs that match the front and are a hallmark of superior quality. A rug’s back tells you a lot about its history, including how it was made and by whom.