KARS Vintage Kilim 115x72cm
Proud symbolism from Northeast Anatolia
This hand-woven vintage kilim originates from the Kars region – a rugged, high-altitude area in Northeast Anatolia. Crafted in the 1960s, it tells tales of strong hands, clear minds, and the need for protection and expression. The sheep's wool from this cold region is particularly rich in lanolin, giving the fabric its natural sheen, resilience, and a palpable sense of depth.
Symbolism in clear geometry
At the heart of this unique piece is the Elibelinde – the symbol of female power. Hands on the waist, upright, awake – it embodies fertility, trust, and creative power. Two more Elibelinde motifs flank the center, like reflections of inner strength. The composition is complemented by other archaic symbols:
- Çengel (Double Hook): Connection of opposites – balance and support
- Kurt İzi (Wolf's Paw Print): Vigilance and inner clarity
- Göz (Eye): Protection from evil, perception, and consciousness
- Bukağı (Fetter): Connection, responsibility, bond to life
Each of these symbols was woven in not decoratively, but meaningfully – as a silent prayer, as a woven memory, as a protective formula.
Colors with character
Typical of the Kars region, rich, contrasting tones unfold: dark brown like fertile earth, flanked by rose, lilac, warm yellow, and old rose. This color palette appears archaic and modern at the same time – and powerfully highlights the symbols in their clarity.
For sacred spaces in everyday life
With its compact dimensions, this kilim is wonderfully suited as a meditation space, wall hanging, or a quiet companion in the bedroom. It opens spaces for introspection, intuition, and connection – whether as a powerful ritual piece or a quiet work of art in everyday life.
Gently restored & sun-cleaned
Like all our pieces, this kilim has been carefully restored and cleaned with olive soap and sunlight – a process that revitalizes the fabric without erasing its history.
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.
KARS Vintage Kilim 115x72cm
Wild Heart Free Soul
Kastanienallee 55
10119 Berlin
Germany
Choose options
Anatolian, flat-woven kilim rug made from hand-spun sheep's wool. A unique vintage piece with collector's value!
Selected by Wild Heart Free Soul according to the highest quality standards, naturally cleaned, and professionally restored.
Age-related patina and natural irregularities are characteristic of our handmade vintage rugs.
- Material: 100% hand-spun sheep's wool, highest quality
- Craftsmanship: Hand-flat-woven on a traditional horizontal wooden loom
- Age: Semi-antique. Approx. 1960-1970
- Condition: Vintage in like-new quality due to extensive cleaning and restoration process
- Origin: Kars
- Size: 115x 72cm, Height: 3mm
- Weight:
Anatolian kilims are far more than textile utility items – they are woven memories, personal messages, and an expression of living 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 colourful – not every kilim remained purely plant-dyed. Many pieces from the 1960s and 1970s bear in their colours 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 sat together at the loom: mother, grandmother, sister, neighbour. 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 slept for a long time in chests until they one day came to light again.
Today, we clean and restore these pieces with the greatest 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. 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.
A kilim is a long-lasting companion – treated with love and cared for attentively, it can outlast many more generations. It doesn't require elaborate care, but rather the right kind of care.
We recommend gently vacuuming or beating the kilim once or twice a month to remove dust and dirt. Please do not use a rotary vacuum cleaner; ideally, use a brush attachment or a gentle handheld device. Too frequent, intense vacuuming can cause the fibers to wear out over time.
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 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 – that would damage the fibers. If you need help 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, 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 fibers can become permanently trapped, especially in flatweaves.
Dried food residues can usually be carefully scraped off or brushed out – preferably with a steady hand and without haste.