Carpet Secrets · Halının Gizemi · Teppich-Geheimnisse
In some villages in the west of Türkiye, carpets are once again knotted using old methods. Within the DOBAG project, natural dyes, traditional patterns and craftsmanship are gaining new respect. In rich detail and authentically, the film shows how an old craft is being revived: from the sheep shearing through the dyeing of the wool to the knotting of the 'Turkish' knot. In the new edition of the DVD, you can choose between the German, Turkish and English language versions.
DOBAG was founded in the early 1980s as a project to research and develop natural dyes. Since then, 350 women spread across 25 villages have been knotting carpets with plant-dyed wool and traditional patterns. The special thing is that the women administer themselves; they are organised in two cooperatives that work closely with Marmara University in Istanbul. Dr Serife Atlihan advises them to this day – and checks every single carpet to see whether it meets the quality requirements. Besides colours and patterns, the number of knots is significant: there must be 100,000 per square metre. Otherwise the carpet does not receive the DOBAG certificate, a trademark for high-quality carpets that is now recognised worldwide.
The project became possible because the German biologist and chemist Dr Harald Böhmer had already begun, back in the 1970s during his time as a teacher at the German School in Istanbul, to research the secrets of old carpets. With scientific analyses he discovered how the wool was dyed before synthetic colours existed. The knowledge of this had been lost, because it was so much easier to buy industrially dyed wool. Together with his wife Renate, Dr Harald Böhmer ran dyeing courses in the villages.
Today the women know again that they can dye a warm yellow with camomile flowers, and that acorn cups are ideally suited for dyeing black. The madder native to Türkiye is also used; its dried roots are ground and then dye red. Dyer's weld, long regarded as a weed, is likewise valued once more. To wool previously dyed blue with indigo, the yellow dye contained in the weld is added in a second dyeing process, so that green is produced.
The film shows these dyeing processes, which are actually quite simple. The plants are heated in water, then the previously mordanted wool is added and takes up the dyes. But the women also know the little secrets of how the colours become lightfast and washfast.
The wool for the carpets is hand-spun virgin wool. This too is an important quality feature of the DOBAG carpets. The women work at home, at their own looms. They normally manage 5,000 knots in a day. The film shows in precise detail how the 'Turkish' knot is made. To do this, a loop is drawn around two warp threads. Then the knotting threads are trimmed to the same length; the patterns are created by the different colours of the knots. The traditional patterns from the region are knotted, but the creativity of the knotters is also called for.
With great openness, the women grant insight into the art of carpet knotting - and into their everyday life in the remote villages. Through the sale of their carpets, they today earn the largest part of the family income. The old craft has opened up new perspectives for them - and given them new self-confidence. Selected dealers, e.g. from Australia and America, come to the villages and buy their carpets there. The prices are fixed and non-negotiable. Only in this way can the women be paid fairly. Experts see in the DOBAG carpets the collectors' items and antiques of tomorrow.
DOBAG website: http://gsf.marmara.edu.tr