FETHIYE Vintage Kilim 252x171cm

• Unique Vintage Rug - only one available!
• Material: 100% high-quality, hand-spun sheep wool
• Craftsmanship: 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: Fethiye, Anatolia
• Dimensions: 252cm x 171cm, Pile height: 3mm

Anatolian kilims are far more than mere textile objects – they are woven memories, personal messages, and expressions of a vibrant 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 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 traces 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 such as the eye (Göz), the cosmic mother (Elibelinde), or the scorpion became carriers of profound 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 Antalya sun, repaired in our Istanbul atelier.

Some pieces are with us for only a few months, others accompany us for years – because we rush nothing. Every kilim is restored with time, care, and respect. Some await the right restorer, the summer months, to bask 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 attentively, it can last for 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, but ideally a brush attachment or a gentle hand tool. Too frequent, intensive vacuuming can eventually fatigue 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 – 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 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: Immediately blot fresh stains 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 professional 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.