Isparta bordered star kilim rug - extra large

A vintage masterpiece made by hand, this gorgeous kilim rug will add boundless colour and charm to your home. Made by nomadic people in Isparta, southern Turkey, the generously sized rug features a striking central design edged by a decorative border, creating an appealing sense of contrast and balance.

Replete with symbolism, the rug is woven with motifs and patterns that carry powerful meaning. The star, or yildiz, represents happiness and good fortune. The hook, or çengel, protects against harmful influences. The year the rug was made, 1999, is woven along the edge of the kilim.

Kilim rugs carry the fingerprint of their maker, with each element from weave to geometric alignment, dye tones to decorative design, bearing the hallmarks of the region where the rug was made and the textile traditions of that area. This rug was made in Isparta, a town in the Antalya region of southern Turkey. Antalya has a rich, multi-layered history of flatweave kilim and pile carpet making, deeply tied to nomadic Turkmen traditions and later 19th-century commercial revivals of the craft.

Kilim weaving was traditionally practised by women using techniques passed from mother to daughter, working without drawing boards or fixed templates, making each piece a unique expression of the maker’s artistry. As traditional kilim weaving is in decline and much of the generational knowledge is at risk of being lost, authentic rugs such as these are ever more highly prized.

Selected by the V&A, each piece has been sourced and professionally cleaned by a specialist partner.