‘Butterfly’ Kilim in Silky Brown Mohair, Siirt (c. 1950)

This distinctive vintage Siirt kilim caters to the senses. A bold butterfly-shaped motif at its center is visually striking, while its undyed mohair offers a lustrous and soft hand. The rug’s visual arrangement is a striking and highly unusual interpretation of a traditional weaving style.

Looking Closer

Such kilims are traditionally woven as rugs and throw blankets for use in the harsh steppe region of Siirt, near eastern Turkey’s borders with Iraq and Syria. This piece is a unique example of the type, being both more robust and stylistically distinctive—a defining feature of older pieces. Traditional Siirt kilims tend toward minimalism, and the vast majority sport open fields with a simple graphic motif in the central field.

This example breaks with the trend. It is larger and more densely woven than most Siirt kilims of the middle twentieth century, and it is aesthetically innovative. A bold ‘X’ floats atop alternating narrow bands in russet brown and cream. Through the playful use of negative space, the weaver has created the appearance of depth and movement.

The top and bottom of the rug are capped with heavy-weight cream bands that frame the composition. The configuration is as powerful as it is unusual.

Styling Advice

This and other semi-antique Siirt rugs were woven by pastoralists for domestic use, not for commercial sale. As such, their motifs and patterns reflect the weaver’s own aesthetic preferences, and their inventiveness is limited only by the weaver's imagination.

The size, design, and restrained color palate employed in this rug lend it strong decorative potential. Siirt kilims are often used as decorative throws, bedspreads, or as wall-hangings. Like the Diné (Navajo) rugs that are a staple of contemporary decorating standards, it is at home in Southwestern, Alpine, rustic, and contemporary settings, or anywhere in which neutral earth hues are needed.

Condition and Use

This rug is in excellent condition with no noted flaws. However, the brushed pile surface is uneven in places, reflecting the hand-made and rustic nature of its origins.

Due to mohair’s softness, this kilim is not recommended for use in high-traffic areas, such as a main hall or entryway. If used on the floor, a rug pad is advised both to anchor the kilim in place and to increase its lifespan by dampening the impact of footfalls on the mohair fibers.

Indigenous Arts of Anatolia

Siirt kilims are prized for their soft nap, which is the result of exceptional materials and an unusual artisan process.

These rugs are woven from naturally colored mohair shorn from the angora goat, a breed native to Ankara, in central Anatolia. Mohair is lustrous, soft, and warm, producing a fiber ranging in hue from white to dark brown, almost black.

This type of weaving is sometimes known as “faux-pile”, owing to its distinctive finish and unusual production. Siirt rugs are woven like a conventional flatweave. Once finished, however, they are brushed using a metal comb or teasel, a dried plant head, giving the textile a ‘ripple finish’.