Kilim Symbols

Emerging as a miracle in the Near East in 8000 BC, kilims influenced almost all societies from the Balkans to China. The result of thirty years of comparative research, this work reveals the symbolism of kilims inherited from primitive animism.

According to traveler-writer Jacques Lacarrière:

“Kilims belong to a world of symbols reminiscent of medieval coats of arms, containing a landscape, a plant, a story, or fears and desires. In their motifs, one finds the fear of death and the desire for fertility.

Silent pleas are read, almost heard, for the fertility of the earth, the fertility of women, the protection of spirits and the sky, and the benevolence of the plant and animal kingdoms. In this materially weak and harsh world, where abundance is constantly at risk and hunger is at the door, poverty is compensated by the richness of symbols. From roses to stars, from wolves to dragons, before us are the vital symbols of Anatolia's nomadic communities. Those communities knew how to start from a simple fleece and create these threads, these fabrics, these protective and wise figures against fate.”