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Throughout history people have insulated themselves against the
climatic variations of their homelands by weaving cloths,rugs and
all manner of covers and trappings.Textile production has evolved
over thousands of years and flatweaving is practised in many communities
spread over the globe.Migration over the steppes and the mountains,the
nomads and villagers bring their culture and weaving techniques.Flatwoven
blankets rugs and trappings have provided protection against the
cold and the rain.Tents are kept dry and secure and the floor is
covered with rugs.From such modest needs has developed a flatweaving
culture that we know as kilims.Most of the weaving area's are Muslim
religion and the sophistication of the decorative arts of the Muslim
world is reflected in the colours and the patterns of rugs and kilims.
The process of weaving was developed in various regions of the world
at different times.The weaving from plain to simple banded patterning
through the slitweave work started by about 1000 BC.From an early
period certain regions and groups became known for their specialist
of breeds of sheep or goats,and dyers assumed almost shamanistic
status for their preparation of colours of legendary brillance.The
trade in the raw materials of cloth production over the last 500
years has been truly international from Central Asia,Anatolia,Persia
to the Europe continent. The history of the weaving process of disperate
groups will never be known.Textiles and rugs are disintegrated if
not preserved under extraordinary conditions.The small quantity
of cloth preserved have superlative quality technical sophistication
and creative ingenuity.Ancient textiles have been discovered in
near immaculate condition in the desert tombs of south America and
the frozen crypts of Pazyrik provide an array of fascinatingartifacts
for oriental rug historians.Other fragments of flatweaves have been
unearthed in southern Siberia as well as in Mongolia.Many flatweaves
and tools are found in archeological resources in Anatolia.Anatolians
were really advanced even in the sixth century BC,they knew to weave
a basic kilim or textile. The Islamic empires of theSeljuks, Ottomans,
Mongols, Safavids, Mameluks and Berbers were great masters of the
textile art.Their period was a golden-era in the history of Islamic
decorative textile,kilim and carpet art. From this era comes one
of the earliest surviving Anatolian flatweaves from Ottoman origin.
The art of weaving has always been a predominantly female preserve,and
continues to form part of a woman's daily round of duties in the
household.Rather than weaving continuosly she is more likely to
start and stop as she wishes.For the nomads,the rest-time at a summer
camp high in the mountains is the time most conductive to intensive
work on a ground loom.
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