SELENDI Vintage Kilim 230x145cm

• 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. Approx. 1960s
• Condition: Vintage in like-new quality due to extensive cleaning and restoration process
• Origin: Selendi, Anatolia
• Dimensions: 230cm x 145cm, Height: 3mm

Anatolian kilims are far more than mere utilitarian textiles – 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 plant-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear the traces of a cultural transition in their hues: between old and new, craftsmanship and modernity.

Weaving was a ritualistic 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 carriers of deep messages.

They were used, loved, passed down – and some of them slumbered in chests for a long time until one day they came to 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. Each kilim is restored with time, care, and respect. Some await the right restorer, the summer months to bask in the sunlight – their quiet 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 utilitarian textiles – 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 plant-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear the traces of a cultural transition in their hues: between old and new, craftsmanship and modernity.

Weaving was a ritualistic 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 carriers of deep messages.

They were used, loved, passed down – and some of them slumbered in chests for a long time until one day they came to 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. Each kilim is restored with time, care, and respect. Some await the right restorer, the summer months to bask in the sunlight – their quiet 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 care and attentive maintenance, our kilims and rugs can last for many more generations. Our rugs don't require a lot of maintenance, but they do require the right kind. We recommend that you regularly and carefully vacuum or beat your rug to remove dirt and dust. Vacuuming your rug once or twice a month is sufficient. Vacuuming too frequently can cause the knots and fibers to wear out faster. If your vacuum cleaner has an upholstery attachment, use it instead of a rotary vacuum.

Every few months, you should turn your rug over and vacuum the back to remove dirt from the underside of the rug. It's also helpful to rotate your rug once a year to ensure even wear.

We recommend having your rug professionally hand-washed every 3 to 5 years. Please do not take it for steam or dry cleaning – this will surely damage the rug! Choose a rug cleaner who uses a pH-neutral shampoo or olive soap for hand washing. The soap is worked into the rug by hand with a soft-bristled brush and then thoroughly rinsed. If you have any questions or need assistance choosing a rug cleaning service, please feel free to contact us. We work with trusted Oriental rug cleaners and restorers and can offer our customers discounted rates.

A stain, now what?
Blot the stain with a dry cloth until it is dry. If necessary, you can dab with a slightly damp cloth and a little olive soap. Please do not wash your rug yourself. If the stain does not come out, immediately contact an Oriental rug specialist for cleaning. Adding a lot of liquid can make stain removal more difficult and even worsen them. This is because moisture spreads along the fibers and can get trapped in rugs with horizontal fibers (like flat weaves).

Dried food residues can be easily scraped off or brushed out.