Sivas Rugs

A Sivas rug is a hand-knotted wool rug woven in Sivas province in central-eastern Anatolia, recognized by a dense weave, a short and finely trimmed pile, and a palette of twelve to twenty-five colors that deliberately avoids strong contrast. Navy and madder red carry most of the field, with Seljuk and Persian medallion drawing behind the pattern.

Sivas is a weaving province rather than a single town, and the differences between its districts are real enough that dealers name them separately. What follows is how the rug is built, why its color behaves the way it does, which districts weave what, and what is currently on the loom-end of this collection.

The districts, and what each is known for

Five names account for most Sivas weaving, alongside the provincial center itself.

District	Known for	Materials
Zara	The most widely traded of the Sivas patterns; durable, boldly drawn, made to be used	Wool, sometimes goat hair
Kangal	Distinctive local drawing and a heavier, richer color range	Wool, sometimes goat hair
Divriği	The finest weave of the group — close knotting and delicate motifs	Wool
Gürün	A local tradition particular to the district, woven entirely by hand	Wool
Yıldızeli	Original drawing worked in good highland wool	Wool

The rugs in this collection are all Zara-pattern weavings from the Anatolian Shawl series. See the whole of that series under Anatolian shawl rugs.

How a Sivas rug is built

Tightly, and with a short pile — which are the two things you can verify with your hands.

The warp is spun fine and given a high twist, which allows more knots across a given width and keeps the foundation from stretching. Wool for the pile is sorted and dyed before spinning. After each row of knots the weaver beats the row down hard with an iron comb, and every second row the pile is combed out; that combination is what produces the close, level surface a Sivas rug is known for, and it is why the back shows the pattern almost as sharply as the front.

The knot itself has a history. Sivas rugs were originally tied with the symmetrical Gördes knot, looped around two warp threads in the Anatolian manner. From the nineteenth century, as Persian design influence reached the province, weavers increasingly used the single-looped asymmetrical knot instead — the change followed the drawing, since a single-looped knot handles a curve more easily than a symmetrical one does. Both are found. Compare the broader category of hand-knotted rugs.

The palette: many colors, almost no contrast

This is the single most distinctive thing about a Sivas rug, and the least obvious from a photograph.

A Sivas weaving typically carries between twelve and twenty-five separate colors, which is a high count for an Anatolian village rug. Yet the rug does not read as busy, because the colors are chosen to sit next to one another rather than against one another: values step gradually, and hard oppositions are avoided. Navy and madder red and their tones dominate; the rest of the range fills the gaps between them.

The dyes are the Anatolian standards — madder for the reds, indigo for the blues — and they behave accordingly. The colors of a new Sivas rug look matte and slightly withdrawn; they gain depth as the surface wears and the pile catches light. Abrash, the visible band where a weaver moved from one dye lot to the next, is common and is not corrected.

The motifs, and what they are drawn from

Sivas drawing sits between two sources. Seljuk and Persian medallion structures give the field its architecture; the village motif vocabulary fills it. Both floral and geometric elements appear, often in the same rug, with lozenge and diamond forms doing much of the structural work.

The recurring motifs are: flower forms; the hook (çengel) and the eye (göz); the dragon; the star; wolf-track and running-water borders; the central medallion; the amulet (muska); the earring; hand-and-finger motifs; the comb; six-pointed and interlocking small stars; eight-pointed stars; and U-shaped forms. For the wider Anatolian motif vocabulary, see ethnic pattern rugs.

What is in this collection, and in what sizes

Ten hand-knotted wool rugs, all in the Sivas Zara pattern, all one-of-a-kind pieces rather than repeat-woven models.

The sizes run small. Most fall between 80 × 128 cm (2'7" × 4'2") and 124 × 178 cm (4'1" × 5'10") — the scale of a bedside, a hall, a prayer corner or a rug laid on top of a larger plain one. The two largest are 169 × 254 cm (5'7" × 8'4") and 172 × 264 cm (5'8" × 8'8"), which will carry the front legs of a small seating group. Because each piece is woven individually, the dimensions are irregular by a centimeter or two; that is a property of hand weaving, not a measuring error.

Judging one, and keeping it

Turn it over first. The back of a genuine Sivas rug shows the pattern clearly in slightly uneven rows, the weave is tight and level, and the fringe is a continuation of the warp rather than something sewn on. Then check that the motifs are drawn cleanly rather than blurred, that the colors have not faded unevenly on one side, and that there is no thinning where the pile has worn to the foundation.

For care, keep it simple. Vacuum at low suction and in the direction of the pile, without a beater bar. Lift spills with a barely damp cloth rather than soaking them, and avoid harsh detergents, which strip madder and indigo faster than wear does. When a full wash is needed, a Sivas rug is washed flat on the ground by hand — not in an automatic rug-washing machine — in cool or lukewarm water, worked gently, and then dried flat in the shade.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Sivas rug?

A Sivas rug is a hand-knotted wool rug from Sivas province in central-eastern Anatolia, identified by a dense weave, a short and finely trimmed pile, and a wide but low-contrast palette dominated by navy and madder red. Its drawing borrows from Seljuk and Persian medallion traditions.

Which districts of Sivas weave rugs?

Zara, Kangal, Divriği, Gürün and Yıldızeli, along with the provincial center. Zara rugs are the most widely traded and the most robust; Divriği produces the finest weave of the group; each district keeps its own drawing and its own weaving habits.

Which knot is used in a Sivas rug?

Both are found. Sivas rugs were originally tied with the symmetrical Gördes knot around two warp threads. From the nineteenth century, as Persian design influence spread, weavers increasingly used the single-looped asymmetrical knot, which handles curved drawing more readily.

How many colors does a Sivas rug use?

Between twelve and twenty-five, which is high for an Anatolian village rug. The rug still reads as calm because the colors step gradually in value and strong oppositions are avoided, with navy and madder red and their tones carrying most of the field.

How do you tell a genuine Sivas rug?

Turn it over. A hand-knotted Sivas rug shows the pattern clearly on the back in slightly irregular rows, the weave is tight and level, and the fringe continues from the warp rather than being sewn on. The motifs should be drawn crisply, not blurred.

How is a Sivas rug washed?

Flat on the ground and by hand, never in an automatic rug-washing machine. Use cool or lukewarm water and gentle pressure rather than hard scrubbing, avoid chemical shampoos, and dry the rug flat in the shade so the colors do not bleach unevenly.

What sizes do Sivas rugs come in?

Most of the rugs here are small, between roughly 80 × 128 cm and 124 × 178 cm, which suits a bedside, a hall or a layered floor. The largest run to about 172 × 264 cm. Sizes vary by a centimeter or two because each piece is woven individually.

Related collections: Turkish rugs · Kayseri rugs · wool rugs · hand-knotted rugs