Important Notice

ANATOLIA, TURKEY, CIRCA 1930
Handspun and handwoven cotton warp with wool weft, wool pile, tassles in angora (mohair) wool
43.25 x 72.75 in (110 x 185 cm)


Tulu is the English pronunciation for the Turkish word tuylu, literally meaning 'hairy'. These rugs are characteristically long-piled and woven with large knots, giving them a lustrous, warm and soft look. A special type of tulu rug is made with longer pile from the Angora goat and called filikli.

Filikli tulus are made for a number of purposes from wall decorations to bed covers and prayer rugs. This strikingly colourful and shimmering rug is a hanging from the high mountains of Anatolia. It is woven in diagonal strips in alternating colours with angora wool tassels which appear to shimmer in the light. It displays an ancient technique of carpet weaving that has its roots in the origins of the craft. In Central Asia it was known as jhulkhirsh or 'bear's skin,' and is still woven in remote parts of Uzbekistan. However, in Anatolia it is seldom made anymore as Angora goat breeding has almost stopped there. As a result, original tulu rugs, such as the present lot which was acquired by Jasleen Dhamija in Ankara in 1976, are hard to come by.

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