KORKUTELI Vintage Kilim 255x159cm

• Unique vintage rug - only one item in stock!
• Material: 100% high-quality, hand-spun sheep's wool
• Workmanship: Flat woven by hand on a traditional wooden loom
• Age: Vintage / Semi-antique. Circa 1960s
• Condition: Vintage in mint condition due to elaborate cleaning and restoration process
• Origin: Korkuteli, Anatolia
• Dimensions: 255cm x 159cm, Height: 3mm

Anatolian kilims are far more than mere 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 symbolic power.

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, 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 profound messages.

They were used, loved, passed on – and some of them slept for a long time 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 studio.

Some pieces are with us for only a few months, others accompany us for years – because we don't rush anything. Each 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 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 endure for 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, intensive vacuuming can eventually tire the fibres.

Every few months, it's worthwhile to turn the kilim over and vacuum the back as well. Turning the rug slightly once a year ensures even wear and maintains the balance in the weave.

For deep cleaning, we recommend a professional hand wash every 3 to 5 years – with pH-neutral shampoo or olive soap, gently worked in by hand and thoroughly rinsed out. 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 rates.

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 dirt, please consult a professional directly. Liquid that spreads along the fibres can become permanently trapped, especially in flat weaves.

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