Rare Camel marriage kilim From Fethiye, West Anatolia

 

Rare and interesting large marriage camel kilim from Fethiye in very good condition. Wonderful drawing with a real tribal feel.  Large tribal camel cover kilim from Fethiye. Çiçim embroidery and metal bound thread. These special kilims were used to carry the bride’s dowry gifts from her village to the groom’s village in the wedding procession.

272cm x 172cm No 3005 SOLD


“Within a Turcoman wedding the wedding party leads the bride from her parents home to the house of her future husband. All the dowry is placed on camels or horses and thus exhibited to the whole community who comments, of course, the quantity and quality shown there. If such a kilim is spread over a camel the main part of the empty middle field is not visible (as it is covered by the dowry), but its shirts are visible. This custom and this type of kilim we know from several places in Anatolia. Serife Atlihan reported it at an ICOC congress; many collectors believe this type of flatweave originates from Fethiye in the far Soutwest. But we know it also from Northwestern Anatolia, from some places near Afyon and, a tiny amount, from Cappadocia (a classical habitat for Turcomans!) where the earliest known examples of this type come from.” From Salon du Tapis d'Orient , “Kilim” by Michael Bischof and Memduh Kürtül.

For an early example of such a wedding kilim and other beautiful early kilims see:

http://www.turkotek.com/salon_00091/salon.html