




BALIKESIR Vintage Kilim 207x247cm
Vintage one-of-a-kind rug, flat woven in Anatolia, Turkey
BALIKESIR Vintage Kilim 207x247cm
Wild Heart Free Soul
Kastanienallee 55
10119 Berlin
Germany
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- Unique Vintage Rug - only one available!
- Material: 100% high-quality, hand-spun sheep's wool
- Workmanship: Hand flat-woven on a traditional wooden loom
- Age: Vintage / Semi-antique. Approx. 1960s
- Condition: Vintage in like-new quality due to extensive cleaning and restoration process
- Origin: Balıkesir, Anatolia
- Dimensions: 207cm x 247cm, Height: 3mm
Anatolian kilims are far more than mere textile objects – they are woven memories, personal messages, and an expression 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 symbolism.
This kilim, too, was woven in an Anatolian home – from the wool of their own sheep, shorn, washed, carded, and hand-spun. The yarns were often dyed with natural pigments from madder, weld, walnut, or indigo – but from the 1950s onwards, synthetic dyes increasingly found their way into the villages. The world became faster, more colorful – not every kilim remained purely plant-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear in their hues the traces of a cultural transition: 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 such as 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 slept for a long time in chests until they one day saw the light 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 wait for the right restorer, for the summer months to bathe in the sunlight – for their silent transformation back 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.
Anatolian kilims are far more than mere textile objects – they are woven memories, personal messages, and an expression 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 symbolism.
This kilim, too, was woven in an Anatolian home – from the wool of their own sheep, shorn, washed, carded, and hand-spun. The yarns were often dyed with natural pigments from madder, weld, walnut, or indigo – but from the 1950s onwards, synthetic dyes increasingly found their way into the villages. The world became faster, more colorful – not every kilim remained purely plant-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear in their hues the traces of a cultural transition: 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 such as 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 slept for a long time in chests until they one day saw the light 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 wait for the right restorer, for the summer months to bathe in the sunlight – for their silent transformation back 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.
With loving treatment and careful care, our kilims and carpets can last for many more generations. Our carpets do not require a lot of care, but they do need the right kind of care. We recommend that you regularly and carefully vacuum or beat your carpet to remove dirt and dust. It is sufficient to vacuum your carpet once or twice a month. Too frequent vacuuming can wear out the knots and fibers more quickly. If you have a vacuum attachment on your vacuum cleaner, use it instead of a rotary vacuum cleaner.
Every few months, you should turn your carpet over and vacuum the back to remove dirt from the underside of the carpet. It is also helpful to rotate your carpet once a year to ensure even wear.
We recommend having your carpet professionally hand-washed every 3 to 5 years. Please do not have it steam cleaned or dry cleaned - this will certainly damage the carpet! Choose a carpet cleaner that uses a pH-neutral shampoo or olive soap for hand washing. The soap is worked into the carpet by hand with a soft-bristled brush and then thoroughly rinsed out. If you have any questions or need assistance in choosing a carpet cleaning service, please do not hesitate to contact us. We work with trusted oriental carpet cleaners and restorers and can pass on discounted rates to our customers.
A stain, now what?
Blot the stain with a dry cloth until it is dry. If necessary, you can dab with a very slightly damp cloth and a little olive soap. Please do not wash your carpet yourself. If the stain does not come out, contact an oriental carpet specialist immediately for cleaning. Adding a lot of liquid can make stain removal more difficult and even worsen it. This is because moisture spreads along the fibers and can be trapped in carpets with horizontal fibers (like flat weaves).
Dried food residues can be easily scraped off or brushed out.
