BALIKESIR Vintage Kilim 302x75cm
Woven Memory from Anatolia
This hand-woven vintage kilim is unique – born from the silent strength of Anatolian women who translated their world into patterns. Made from 100% hand-spun sheep's wool (partially combined with cotton or goat hair), each rug carries its own story – of protection, beauty, and connection.
Kilim Symbols & Their Meaning
The patterns and motifs in our kilims come from a centuries-old symbolic language deeply rooted in Anatolian culture. Common symbols include:
- Göz (Eye): Protection, clarity, warding off evil
- Su Yolu (Water Flow): Flow of life, change, renewal
- Elibelinde: Feminine power, fertility, sincerity
- Kurt Ağızı: Vigilance, protection from all directions
- Küpe: Love, harmonious relationships
- Bukağı: Responsibility, family cohesion
These symbols make the rug a silent bearer of meaning – palpable for all who inhabit it.
Color World & Texture
Our kilims feature a natural, warm color palette – from terracotta to sand, from indigo to pistachio green. Fine abrash gradients lend depth and vibrancy, while the flat, hand-woven structure reveals a pleasant feel and archaic beauty.
Spatial Effect & Use
Whether as a central statement in the living room, a peaceful island in the bedroom, or as wall art – a vintage kilim brings more than just style: It brings atmosphere, history, and a tangible grounding to your space.
Gently Restored & Cared For
Like all pieces at Wild Heart Free Soul, this kilim has been carefully cleaned – with olive soap, water, and sunlight – and, where necessary, gently restored. This preserves its soul while making it ready for new journeys.
A kilim from Wild Heart Free Soul is more than a rug.
It is a piece of woven memory – warm, meaningful, and full of quiet strength.
A home for your feet. And for your heart.
BALIKESIR Vintage Kilim 302x75cm
Wild Heart Free Soul
Kastanienallee 55
10119 Berlin
Germany
Choose options
- Unique Vintage Rug - only one available!
- Material: 100% high-quality, hand-spun sheep's wool
- Craftsmanship: Flat-woven by hand on a traditional wooden loom
- Age: Vintage / Semi-antique. Approx. 1960s
- Condition: Vintage in new condition due to extensive cleaning and restoration process
- Origin: Balikesir, Anatolia
- Dimensions: 302cm x 75cm, 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, combed, 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 vegetable-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear the marks of a cultural transition in their colors: between old and new, craftsmanship and modernity.
Weaving was a ritual act – accompanied by songs, stories, silence. Often, several women would sit 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 long in chests until they reappeared one day.
Today, we clean and restore these pieces with the utmost respect: washed with olive soap, dried in the Antalya sun, repaired in our Istanbul atelier.
Some pieces are with us for only a few months, others accompany us for years – because we never rush anything. Every kilim is restored with time, care, and respect. Some await the right restorer, 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 legacy. 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 mindfully, it can survive many more generations. It doesn't need elaborate care, but above all, the right kind.
We recommend gently vacuuming or shaking out your kilim once or twice a month to remove dust and dirt. Please do not use a rotating vacuum cleaner for this; ideally, use a brush attachment or a gentle handheld device. Too frequent, intensive vacuuming can eventually tire out the fibres.
Every few months, it's worth turning the kilim over and vacuuming the back as well. If you gently rotate the rug once a year, you ensure even wear and maintain the balance in the weave.
For deep cleaning, we recommend professional handwashing every 3 to 5 years – with 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 fibres. 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, carefully dab with a little olive soap and a slightly damp cloth – without rubbing, without soaking. For stubborn dirt, please consult a specialist directly. Liquid that spreads along the fibres 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.