thumb|Hotamis Kilim (detail), central [[Anatolia, early 19th century]]
A kilim ( ; ) is a flat tapestry-woven carpet or rug traditionally produced in countries of the former Persian Empire, including Iran and Turkey, but also in the Balkans and the Turkic countries.
Kilims can be purely decorative or can function as prayer rugs. Modern kilims are popular floor coverings in Western households.
Etymology
The word kilim comes from Persian 'mat, blanket, bed or floor covering', which is cognate with the Aramaic-Syriac word , , which means the same thing. Both are borrowed from Ancient Greek ,
History
thumb|Gilim Iran museum
thumb|Modern galim
Like pile carpets, kilim have been produced since ancient times. The explorer Mark Aurel Stein found kilims dating to at least the fourth or fifth century CE in Hotan, China:
:"As kilims are much less durable than rugs that have a pile to protect the warp and weft, it is not surprising that few of great age remain.... The weave is almost identical with that of modern kilims, and has about fourteen threads of warp and sixteen threads of weft to the inch. The pattern consists of narrow stripes of blue, green, brownish yellow, and red, containing very small geometric designs. With this one exception, so peculiarly preserved, there are probably very few over a century old."
Weaving technique
thumb|left|upright|Diagram of kilim slit weave technique, showing how the weft threads of each color are wound back from the color boundary, leaving a slit
Kilims are produced by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile. Kilim weaves are tapestry weaves, technically weft-faced plain weaves, that is, the horizontal weft strands are pulled tightly downward so that they hide the vertical warp strands.
thumb|Turkish kilim, folded to show slits between different coloured areas
When the end of a color boundary is reached, the weft yarn is wound back from the boundary point. Thus, if the boundary of a field is a straight vertical line, a vertical slit forms between the two different color areas where they meet. For this reason, most kilims can be classed as "slit woven" textiles. The slits are beloved by collectors, as they produce very sharp-etched designs, emphasizing the geometry of the weave. Weaving strategies for avoiding slit formation, such as interlocking, produce a more blurred design image.
The weft strands, which carry the visible design and color, are almost always wool, whereas the hidden warp strands can be either wool or cotton. The warp strands are only visible at the ends, where they emerge as the fringe. This fringe is usually tied in bunches, to ensure against loosening or unraveling of the weave. A widely used motif is the elibelinde, a stylized female figure representing motherhood and fertility. Other motifs express the tribal weavers' desires for protection of their families' flocks from wolves with the wolf's mouth or the wolf's foot motif (Turkish: , ), or for safety from the sting of the scorpion (Turkish: ). Several motifs hope for the safety of the weaver's family from the evil eye (Turkish: and for the motif), which could be divided into four with a cross symbol (Turkish: ), or averted with the symbol of a hook (Turkish: ), a human eye (Turkish: ), or an amulet (Turkish: ; often, a triangular package containing a sacred verse).
Other motifs symbolise fertility, as with the trousseau chest motif (Turkish: ), or the explicit fertility (, ) motif. The motif for running water (Turkish: ) similarly depicts the resource literally. The desire to tie a family or lovers together may be depicted with a fetter motif (Turkish: ). Several other motifs represent the desire for good luck and happiness, as for instance the bird (Turkish: ) and the star or Solomon's seal (Turkish: ). The oriental symbol of yin and yang is used for love and unison (Turkish: ).