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Authentic Vintage Turkish Rugs, Hand-Knotted in Wool
Shop authentic vintage Turkish rugs hand-knotted in wool, each one a single piece between thirty and eighty years old. Most are quiet neutrals in cream, beige and grey, built on classical medallion and all-over designs, with a smaller group of overdyed and hand-carved rugs in stronger colour.
Every rug in this collection is a single handmade piece. Each one came in on its own, carrying its own colour, its own wear and the small irregularities that come with hand weaving.
Every rug here is also between thirty and eighty years old. The colours have settled with age and with the finishing each piece has had, which is why two rugs woven to the same design rarely look alike.
At Rug N Carpet this collection is kept to hand-knotted wool pile rugs. Flatwoven kilims, Oushak weaves and tribal pieces are sold in their own collections.
Why Choose Turkish Rugs?
One piece, not a run
Each rug is photographed individually. When it sells, that exact rug is gone.
The Turkish knot
These rugs are woven with the symmetrical Turkish knot, in which both ends of the pile yarn come up together between two warps.
Wool that has settled
Thirty to eighty years of age leaves the wool soft to the hand and the colours quiet rather than bright.
Low to medium pile
Pile heights generally run between about 5 mm and 10 mm. Each product page states the exact height.
Choose by Weave and Finish
These rugs come from different Anatolian weaving traditions and have been finished in different ways — washed down, overdyed, carved, or left much as they were woven.
Washed
Classical medallion and floral-border designs taken down to cream, beige, taupe and soft sage.
Hand-carved
The pile is trimmed along the outlines of the pattern so the design stands in relief above the ground. You can feel the relief under your hand. Most are neutral; a smaller group is carved over strong colour.
Overdyed
A single colour laid over the whole rug so the old pattern reads faintly through it, mostly in soft grey and sage here. Close to a solid tone from across the room. See Overdyed Rugs.
Anatolian village weaves
The geometric, many-bordered side of the collection, in soft blue, terracotta and sage — along with Kayseri-style and Taşpınar-style weaves in cream and dark brown.
Colour Across the Collection
Most of this collection is quiet. Cream and beige run through the majority of it, with grey and soft blue next, and the washed and overdyed rugs sit at that end of the range. Against that there is a smaller group in strong colour — red, turquoise and pink carried across the whole rug rather than used as an accent, usually on a carved or overdyed piece. If you are decorating around existing furniture, the neutral side is where most of the choice is.
To narrow this collection by colour: beige, grey, blue, black, red or multicolour. You can also narrow by pattern — medallion, all-over, floral or geometric.
Finding the Right Size
This collection sits in the middle of the size range rather than at the large end. A 4x7 or 5x8 rug works beside a bed, in an entry or under a small seating group. A 5x9 or 6x9 covers a medium living room, with the front legs of the sofa and chairs resting on the rug. A 6x10, 7x10 or 7x11 suits a larger seating group or a dining table with room to pull the chairs back.
For a bedroom, sizes in this collection work best running across the lower part of the bed or alongside it. Only a handful of rugs here reach 8x10 or larger, the sizes that sit fully under a queen or king bed — for a wider choice at that scale, see Large Rugs. For halls and other narrow spaces, see Runner Rugs.
Size note: Always check the exact measurements on the product page before ordering. Handmade rugs vary slightly from their standard size names, and each listing gives the true width and length.
What to Look for in the Photographs
The back of the rug tells you most of it. On a hand-knotted rug the pattern reads clearly from behind, knot by knot, and the weave is slightly uneven because a person set each row. In the field you will see small shifts — a border line that moves, a motif that changes size, a band where the weaver moved to a new batch of dyed wool. That last one is called abrash. We photograph these as they are rather than edit them out.
What we list on every product page: exact size, pile height and age — the three things a photograph does not give you.
Care Tips for Wool Rugs
Vacuum with suction only rather than a beater bar, and rotate the rug twice a year so wear and light fall evenly. Blot spills straight away with a clean white cloth, working from the outside of the spill inwards, and let the spot dry fully. A rug pad underneath keeps the rug from creeping and takes some of the load off the foundation.
Care note: No steam cleaning and no stiff brush on the pile. Old wool takes heat and abrasion badly. For a deep clean, use a cleaner who handles hand-knotted wool rugs.
Common Turkish Rug Questions
Are the rugs in this collection handmade?
Yes. Every piece is hand-knotted with a wool pile on a cotton or wool foundation, using the symmetrical Turkish knot. There are no machine-made or printed rugs in this collection.
How old are these rugs?
Between thirty and eighty years, with most falling between thirty and seventy. The age is listed on each product page rather than estimated from the photograph.
What is a hand-carved Turkish rug?
After weaving, the pile is trimmed along the outlines of the pattern so the design stands slightly above the ground. You can feel it under your hand as well as see it.
Do old rugs smell, and are they cleaned before they are sold?
Every rug is inspected piece by piece before it is listed. We check for moisture, odour and moth damage, and clean when it is needed. Returns are accepted within 14 days.
How does the pile feel underfoot, and do I need a rug pad?
Pile runs between about 5 mm and 10 mm, so these rugs sit close to the floor rather than feeling deep or plush. A rug pad is worth adding either way: it stops the rug creeping and takes some of the load off the foundation.
Can I use a robot vacuum on these rugs?
Yes. The pile is low, and the fringes at the short ends are cut close to the weave rather than left long, so there is little for a robot vacuum to catch on. Keep any beater bar switched off.
How can I tell a rug is hand-knotted rather than machine-made?
Turn it over. On a hand-knotted rug the pattern reads clearly from the back, knot by knot, and the weave is slightly uneven. Machine-made rugs generally look more uniform from behind.
Why do two rugs with the same design look different?
Because each one was woven by hand, and because the finishing — washing, overdyeing, carving — was done rug by rug. Each rug in this collection is a single piece, so the one in the photograph is the one you receive.
Related Rug Collections
For related handmade styles, see Vintage Rugs, Overdyed Rugs, Hand Knotted Rugs, Oriental Rugs, Oushak Rugs, Kilim Rugs, Tribal Rugs and Large Rugs.
