YAYLA Textile & Leather & Rug Ltd. Co. UŞAK / TURKEY

Kilim (Rug-weaving) is one of the unique arts which the rural person creates by puttig his/her own cultural values and his/her own ideas. Rug weving, in Eşme, became important in the 18th century and the rugs were sold in many different parts of the world after the Worl War II by the merchants who noticed the richness of their motifs and colors. Today Eşme Nomad Rugs of that time take place in elite collections of the world.

Altınbaş Kilims:

The altınbaş kilim is one which is peculiar to EŞME and of which a similar one is woven by the Turcomans of Reyhanlı, in Altınbaş kilims, the motifs and compositions have a characteristic of their own. Rectengular shaped balls linedup along a single axis (medals) are filled with motifs of "Hand in Waist Girl" and "rabbit's heel" placed so as to make them sole - to - sole. İn the oldest Altınbaş kilims, a curl in the middle of rectangles, and the motifs of "rabbit's heel" around it, are lined upin a manner characteristic of such kilims. The kilim surface that is not coverad by rectangles is decorated with special motifs, again characteristic of these kilims. They are bordered and the borders are decorated with special motifs such as "Bintepe", "Kurbağacık", "Elmacık", "kazan kulpu", "Sındı kulpu", "Yılıkıç", "Bukağı" and others.

Takmak Kilims:

In such kilims, the surface is generally divided into these longitudinal sections, and flat hexagonal tops are lined up on these sections and along a single axis. The hexagons consist of bıçkır motifs. That part of the surface which is nor occupied by tops is filled with the motifs of Zülüf, Pıtırık/Çıtırık and oynatma. The motifs of Karagöz and sometimes Çakmak are usually placed among medallions. Hand - in - waist girl motifs occur most frequently in borders.

Toplu Kilims:

In Toplu kilims, baklava-shaped, intertwined, plat hexagonal medallions are placed side by side in a single or double row along an axis. The medallions are called "Tops" in the region. The number of tops varies according to the size of kilims and determines the names of kilims such as kilims with theree, five or seven tops. In such kilims tops which are filled with hooked hexagons generally turn into parallelograms towards the centre. In some kilims on the other hand, tops are decorated with staged and hooked quadrangles. Those kilims where in addition to tops lined up along a central axis, other smaller tops are placed along the two sides are called "Yan toplu" kilims. depending on the size of side tops space is left or not in between. If some space is left the surface of kilim is filled with various motifs. Such kilims have usually one border.