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Carpet History
The Turks, occupied with flock pasturing and stock farming, gained their traditional habits at this direction which gave them cultural public has got at least one art by traditional weaving art especially in areas where transportation is a big problem. Breeding of sheep, the warp of wool, begin dyed of thread, begin formed of carpet and weaving inclined to purpose can not happen suddenly. It necessitates traditions like academic education in society.
In scientific meaning, the oldest knotted carpet example dated to BC IX-VIII centuries was found in Iskit tumulus's during Altay diggings in control of Russian scholar S.I Rudenko in 1949. This carpet called ''Pazirik Carpet'' that is in dimensions of 200x189 cm, has 36 close knots at cm2 and was weaved from wool, is in Leningrad Hermitage Museum today. Between 1906-1908, at grave investigations in Turfan region of middle Asia knotted carpet pieces belong to AD IX-X centuries were found, but these examples are rougher and looser than the Pazirik Carpet is a (5 knots at cm2). These knotted weaving pieces were vanished in Berlin during Second World War.
The oldest carpet examples fount in Anatolia, belong to XVI and XVII centuries some of the carpets that eight of them were fount at Konya Alaeddin Mosque by lotyved in 1905 there of them were fount at Beysehir, Esrefoglu Mosque by Riefstahl in 1929 are exhibited at Istanbul Turk and Muslim Works Museum and Konya Mevlana Museum.Carpet examples of Anatolian Seljukian period are seen at Fustat diggings (old Cairo) in 1936. Seven samples from these carpets that are in pieces are exhibited in Stockholm.
On these carpets, running pattern resembles to Cufic writing, plant cloud, four directions and star on geometric, symmetrical background motive relation; after XVIII century mostly protective animal motives under the shuan belief like isolated bird, and dragonwere used. Apart from begin important usage and production area in Turk's traditionalizes, Anatolian Carpets have been the most valuable products that were sold to neighbor countries and given as gift to the visitors and also they were considerate as sign of superiority at countries they were taken. Anatolian Carpets were told by admiration in writings and drawn in paintings of that period.
Europan rulling class positive approaching to handicrafts was spread to large groups byexhibitions in London in 1851 and in Paris in 1855. As a sequence of these activities the European had acted as a protector of old art works; a lot of painters from Italy, Holland, Germany like Hanns Memling, Hans Holbein, Lorenzo Lotto, Corlo Crivelli had drawn Anatolian Carpets. Exhibitions, researches and publications about Turk Carpets increased. In 1891 Vienna Exhibition was opened. A lot of researches like Robinson (1882 London), Wilhelm Von Bode and F.R Martin in 1901, Sarre in 1907. Kurt Erdmannin 1922, R. Rieefstahl in 1931 G.J Lamm in 1937made publications abouth Anatolians Carpets. Kazam Dirk Governor of Izmir made Turkish publication abouth this subject in 1938. The next Turkish publications were translations of foreign publications that were not connected with field researches.
Altought the Seljukians became weak by raids of the Crusaders and collapsed by the invasions of the Moguls, Carpet Art provides cultural and artistic wholeness of Turkish republic became clear in style of Hereke carpets by carpet examples of Usak group (ornamented with birds, stray, sheepskins and Zintemani motives) and developing with Ottoman carpets. Anatolia Turkmen and Nomadic Tribes carpets that have original value at clear in region carpets like Izmir, Manisa, Zanakkale, Konya, Milas, Kayseri, Sivas, Kars, Kersehir, Malatya. These regions begin same with first period settlement of Anatolia (Troya, Bergama, Laodikeia, Tralles, Iconium, Theodosiopolis, Qayseriyya) connect weaving art tradition to the Antique Period. If we complete traditional continuation with variaus cultural activities and take keeping it alive at universal level as civilization measurement. Places like Anatolia, because of its geographical location that provides the most suitable communication and the most moderate life style to people in west-east, north-south cultures has always attracted interests of groups of people and has become a source of culture forming its own civilization by different cultural items.
A lot of open and closed areas rich natural sources, fertile lands being in Anatolia have caused cultures staying a live being developed and forming colorful traditions by effecting each other. Cultural focussing in Anatolia happened by interaction and interrelations of cultures at Age Greece with Thrace and Macedonia in west; at Mezepotamya and Egypt in MiddleAnatolia; at Iran Sassanian, Caucasus Eastern Anatolia and Middle Asia.
A place like Anatolia contents different cultures that overcome each other; so it is not easy to keep continuation of a society for a long time protecting from degeneration culture has to develop and create its classical examples, purify and renew it self since.
It has alive structure. In other case culture becomes clumsy degenerates and perishes begin and subject to the history. Traditional Carpet and weaving Art, that spread to the whole society provided peoples approaching to a virtue and worked as a school for peoples gaining familiarity with life style in Anatolia during the Middle Age.
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