Bulgarian belles

Traditionally woven carpets even stirred Picasso to marvel at their beauty. And who are we to argue?

Text: Libby Andrews

Bulgarian craftspeople have a long history of carpet weaving that dates back centuries. The art of weaving carpets in Bulgaria thrived during Ottoman rule when carpets were immensely important both as decorative items and for use as practical floor coverings, insulation and blankets. Carpet weaving is generally believed to have originated from the nomads of central Asia because these people needed to make items that were practical and easily transportable. Gradually the skill spread into Europe and into Bulgaria, becoming a popular source of income. Bulgarian carpets are known as kilims, which is the name given universally to flat tapestry-woven carpets.

Today, the carpet weaving tradition lives on in many Bulgarian villages. Demand for these stunning hand-crafted works of art is extremely strong and not just on the domestic market. Hand-made Bulgarian rugs are exported all over the world. Kotel, a remote town perched high in the Sredna Gora and Chiprovtsi, which nestles in the Balkan range bordering Serbia, is a key centre for production of Bulgaria’s world-renowned hand-crafted carpets, although the Rhodope Mountains also produce their own versions. In both Chiprovtsi and Kotel, carpet-weaving played a key part in the area’s economic revival.

Kilims are made on looms by interweaving strands of wool very tightly to create a flat surface (around 3.5 to 5mm in thickness) with no pile and a fringe, which is tied into bunches to make sure that the carpet fibres do not come loose or unravel. They are made from either sheep’s or goat’s wool, although sheep’s wool is softer and favoured by weavers. Bulgarian kilims have been woven so that the pattern is the same on both sides and the carpet can be reversed, which adds to the rug’s lifespan. Bulgarian kilims will last a lifetime and withstand the hardest wear even if they are used as floor coverings. Each side has a lifespan in excess of 30 years. One kilo of wool is used in every square metre of carpet and a typical kilim ranges from a half to three metres in width and from half a metre to 30m in length. Kilims made in Chiprovtsi are made from wool and are woven on both sides on small looms known as stan, while Kotel weavers use vertical looms and it takes around three months to weave one carpet. 

Little has changed over the last three and a half centuries as far as techniques are concerned. Some of the wool used in today’s carpet weaving is synthetically coloured rather than using the old technique of colouring with vegetable dyes and some modern weavers have modified the traditional designs favouring bolder geometric patterns while others add rich colours like purple and turquoise.

Picasso once said, “If you’re looking for something as beautiful as my paintings it would be a kilim.” Bulgarian kilims have changed little in their design; the main reason being that until more recently they were not considered as articles for export and were thus not subject to foreign markets forcing changes to the designs. The fact that each kilim is hand-made makes them unique and many people choose to hang them on the wall and display their intricate designs.

Chiprovtsi carpets are renowned for their colourful geometric designs, which have a modernist feel to them. The most popular design from this village is the karakachka, which translated means the black-eyed bride, an 18th century design woven in red-on-black or black-on-red wool and said to resemble a girl carrying two buckets of water. Other popular Chiprovtsi designs include the piletata (chickens), lotzi (vines) and saksiite (flower pots; each of these designs represents gifts from Nature).

Kotel carpets also contain colorful designs, but this town is also famous for its chergi, which are long, thin rugs with colourful striped pattern, used either as runners or sometimes stitched together to make a larger carpet and for its tufted rugs known as guberi, kitenitsi or postelki, which are used as blankets. Kotel kilims are distinctive in their design and feature four colours, black, blue, red and green. Kotel kilims have diamond designs often symbolising the sun, moon and stars. Other juxtaposed triangle designs symbolise more abstract designs like the fight between good and evil. The most popular Kotel designs are the tablite, which means trays and the krasti or crosses. The former was made for the birth of the weaver’s first child and the latter as a christening present for a grandchild.

In the Rhodope Mountains, hand-crafted rugs are made mainly from goat’s wool and are not dyed but left in their natural colours. They are used as wall-hangings, blankets and rugs and covered the bodies of the revolutionaries or haiduk as they hid from the Ottoman army in the mountains.

Numerous traditions are associated with carpet weaving and many still exist. In Chiprovitisi the daughter or granddaughter of the weaver lies in a newly completed rug and is swung gently from side to side. This is said to ensure that the girl will grow up to be a skilled weaver like her forefathers.

Where to buy

Kilims were originally purchased because they were cheaper than pile carpets, but today they have become collectors’ items and quality rugs can command high prices. The best place to buy your kilim and to ensure its authenticity is in one of the towns or villages renowned for its weaving. Towns like Chiprovtsi and Kotel have Carpet Weaving Museums, where you can choose a traditional design or order a pattern of your choice or choose one of the traditional designs. If you are unable to make the trip to one of the carpet weaving centres, then Bulgaria’s cities all house stores devoted to promoting the Bulgarian kilim. Sofia has several stores but possibly the best is the Carpet House/Tchu kilim shop on Rakovski Street. In Plovdiv you can browse a wide selection of designs at Jeravna Kilims and Carpets on Hadji Dimitar Street. Rodopski Kilim Ltd on Byalata Vodenitsa Street is the best place to get a Rhodopean kilim. Alternatively, there are many websites selling Bulgarian kilims online to a worldwide audience, but prices from these sources tends to be much higher than if you were to buy your kilim in Bulgaria.

Source: Month2Come