ANTEP Vintage Kilim 352x71cm

• Unique Vintage Rug - only one available!
• Material: 100% high-quality, hand-spun sheep wool
• Workmanship: Flat-woven by hand on a traditional wooden loom
• Age: Vintage / Semi-antique. Circa 1960s
• Condition: Vintage in like-new quality due to extensive cleaning and restoration process
• Origin: Antep, Anatolia
• Dimensions: 352cm x 71cm, Height: 3mm

Anatolian kilims are far more than mere textile objects – they are woven memories, personal messages, and expressions of lived culture. For generations, women from nomadic tribes and villages wove their wishes, hopes, and stories into the fabric – freely, intuitively, and full of symbolic power.

This kilim, too, was woven in an Anatolian home – from the wool of their own sheep, shorn, washed, combed, and hand-spun. The dyeing of the yarns often utilized natural pigments from madder, weld, walnut, or indigo – yet from the 1950s onwards, synthetic dyes increasingly found their way into the villages. The world became faster, more colorful – not every kilim remained purely vegetable-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear the marks of a cultural transition in their hues: between old and new, craft and modernity.

Weaving was a ritual act – accompanied by songs, stories, silence. Often, several women sat together at the loom: mother, grandmother, sister, neighbor. Every knot, every line, every symbol carried meaning – protection, fertility, connection, strength. Symbols like the eye (Göz), the cosmic mother (Elibelinde), or the scorpion became carriers of deep messages.

They were used, loved, passed down – and some of them lay dormant in chests for a long time until they eventually saw the light of day again.

Today, we clean and restore these pieces with the utmost respect: washed with olive soap, dried in the sun of Antalya, repaired in our Istanbul atelier.

Some pieces are with us for only a few months, others accompany us for years – because we don't rush anything. Every kilim is restored with time, care, and respect. Some await the right restorer, the summer months to bask in the sunlight – for their quiet re-transformation into a living work of art.

A kilim from Wild Heart Free Soul is not a product.
It is a heritage. A woven wish.
And perhaps a companion for your home of tomorrow.

A kilim is a long-lasting companion – if treated with love and cared for attentively, it can outlast many more generations. It doesn't require elaborate care, but above all, the right kind of care.

We recommend gently vacuuming or shaking out the kilim once or twice a month to remove dust and dirt. Please do not use a rotating vacuum cleaner for this; instead, ideally use a brush attachment or a gentle handheld device. Too frequent, intensive vacuuming can wear out the fibers over time.

Every few months, it's worth turning the kilim over and vacuuming the back as well. Rotating the rug slightly once a year ensures even wear and maintains the balance in the weave.

For deep cleaning, we recommend professional hand washing every 3 to 5 years – with pH-neutral shampoo or olive soap, gently worked in by hand and thoroughly rinsed. Please never dry-clean or steam-clean your kilim – this would damage the fibers. If you need assistance in choosing a suitable cleaner, we are happy to advise you. We work with experienced oriental rug specialists and are happy to pass on our special conditions.

And if an accident does happen: Dab fresh stains immediately with a clean, dry cloth. If necessary, you can carefully dab with a little olive soap and a slightly damp cloth – without rubbing, without soaking through. For stubborn dirt, please consult a specialist directly. Liquid that spreads along the fibers can become permanently trapped, especially in flat weaves.

Dried food residues can usually be carefully scraped off or brushed out – ideally with a steady hand and without haste.