BALIKESIR Vintage Kilim 250x154cm

Unique Vintage Kilim Rug: Limited Availability, only one item available!
 

• Material: 100% high-quality sheep's wool, carefully hand-spun.
• Manufacturing: Artfully flat-woven on traditional wooden looms, a testament to true craftsmanship.
• Age: Vintage. Semi-antique. Circa 1960s
• Condition: Carefully restored vintage rug, in like-new condition through professional cleaning and restoration processes.
• Origin: Balıkesir, Anatolia
• Dimensions: 250 cm length x 154 cm width, 5 mm thickness.

This rug is not only a piece of history but also a work of art that adds a unique and culturally rich atmosphere to any room.

Anatolian kilims are far more than textile utility items – 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, combed, and hand-spun. The dyeing of the yarns often took place 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, craftsmanship 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 bearers 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 await the right restorer, the summer months to bathe in sunlight – 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.

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 rather the right kind of care.

We recommend gently vacuuming or shaking out your Kilim once or twice a month to remove dust and dirt. Please do not use a rotary vacuum cleaner for this; ideally, use a brush attachment or a gentle handheld device. Too frequent, intense vacuuming can eventually wear out the fibers.

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 – using pH-neutral shampoo or olive soap, gently worked in by hand and thoroughly rinsed. Please never put your Kilim in dry cleaning or steam cleaning – this would damage the fibers. If you need help 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. For stubborn stains, 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.