BALIKESIR Vintage Kilim 240x194cm

Anatolian, flat-woven kilim rug made of sheep's wool. Woven from recycled wool of old kilims.

Natural irregularities are characteristic of our handmade vintage rugs.

• Material: 100% hand-spun sheep wool, highest quality
• Workmanship: Flat-woven by hand on a traditional, horizontal wooden loom
• Age: New
• Origin: Manisa, Anatolia
• Size: 240x194cm, 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 dyeing of the yarns often occurred 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, 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 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 long in chests until one day they came back to light.

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 rush nothing. 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 heritage. A woven wish.
And perhaps a companion for your home of tomorrow.

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 dyeing of the yarns often occurred 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, 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 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 long in chests until one day they came back to light.

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 rush nothing. 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 heritage. A woven wish.
And perhaps a companion for your home of tomorrow.

MATERIAL

Sheep's wool is a natural and very high-quality material. All our rugs are woven from hand-spun sheep's wool yarn, which consists of long fibers and has a very high lanolin (wool grease) content. This makes the wool particularly dirt-resistant, water-repellent, and antibacterial.

Sheep's wool is also a living material that, with use and exposure to sun, air, and water, becomes softer and shinier over the years. It's a material that ages gracefully, is completely environmentally friendly and free of harmful substances, and self-cleans and regenerates.

CARE

With loving care and regular maintenance, a Wild Heart Free Soul kilim will look as good as new even after many years of use. Genuine kilims can thus last for several generations.

Our kilims don't require much care, but they do require the right kind of care. A kilim should be vacuumed regularly and gently, or shaken out. Stains can almost always be cleaned with a slightly damp cloth. Dried food residues can easily be scraped off or brushed out.

A kilim should not remain wet for long, as this can cause it to warp. Therefore, we do not recommend washing it yourself. If you feel the need to wash your kilim, please contact a professional, trustworthy rug cleaner or us. We offer all Wild Heart Free Soul customers discounted rates for rug cleaning and restoration.