Vintage Anatolian Tulu Rug 4' 7" x 7' 5" (55" x 89")

Vintage tulu rug hand-woven in the second half of the 20th century in Turkey. Tulu is basically a kilim or a plainweave with tufts of wool or goat-hair yarn interwoven using the Turkish knot to form tuft patterns on the underlying design. Tulu is the English pronunciation for the Turkish word, "tüylü" meaning hairy. The technique used for weaving is very similar to "gabbeh" in Iran, "Beni Ourain" rugs of Morrocco and "ryijy" in Finland. All have been produced for functional purposes rather than commercially and in mountainous regions, so they all have thick pile for protection against cold. Their weaving is more coarse so they can be woven faster at home that the sophisticated fine rugs that can only be woven from a pattern in workshops. They mostly had "primitive" designs and used undyed hand-spun wool or few colors.