Pirotski cilim

Pirotski cilim, the Pirot´s Kilim, are among the finest in the world.

The tradition of making kilims is several thousand years old. Although they were once used to protect their owners from the elements, over time they became objects of high artistic value and imbued with complex significance. The colours and the ornaments used, the composition patterns and the types of weaving, taken together, have made the Pirot kilim one of the finest in the world of kilim making.

Initially woven as an applied object of art, the Pirot kilim long ago surpassed its initial functional reason for existence and became a status symbols. It signified a sense of belonging and bonds to the region in which it was made, and came to represent the financial status of the home in which it were spread. Today, for the most part, the kilim has re-affirmed the good taste and the knowledge of its owners. In terms of beauty, applied imagination and durability, the Pirot kilim stands in a category of its own, in terms of the wealth of Serbian cultural heritage. Its outstanding features includes richness of ornament, refined choice and a combination of colours, as well as flawless weaving and wool of the highest quality.

Owing to their beauty and fine quality, Pirot kilims have long been an essential part of Serbian urban interiors. They adorned interiors from churches to courts throughout the Balkans, as well as mosques and the sultan’s living quarters on the Bosphorus. They were usually woven by illiterate but gifted women, so that from simple woven products they transformed into genuine objects of art. Over time, kilim making exceeded the boundaries of a cottage industry and became a line of business in its own right. Presently, the Pirot kilim also represents applied art and is treated and studied as an object of high artistic value, entailing complex cultural meanings. Over the preceding two centuries, the Pirot kilim has represented the countries to which Serbia belonged at numerous international fairs and exhibitions; the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and today the Republic of Serbia. In Serbia, precious collections of the Pirot kilim constitutue part of the holdings of the Niš Museum in Pirot as well as those of the Ethnographic Museum and the Museum of Applied Arts in Belgrade.

The prehistoric and ancient peoples who lived in this region of the Balkans have long been acquainted with weaving techniques. Some believe it was the Turks who brought kilim making to the Serbian lands, but the more common and plausible explanation is that kilim making is indigenous to the Balkans, and that the arrival of the Turks to Serbia merely contributed to their production on a more massive scale, as well as diversifying the ornaments used in their creation. At the time of the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, during its penetration westward, the Turks found it increasingly difficult to find the rugs in the East, so they supported kilim making in their newly-conquered regions. They demanded that local women kilim weavers apply patterns and colours popular in the East. In this way, oriental and nomadic elements − originally from Central and Asia Minor − spread across Southeast Europe, and it was not long before the Pirot kilim became the most widely known product in terms of artistry and weaving technique.

The city of Pirot, located in southeastern Serbia, on the Nišava River, is on the shortest travel route that connects the East to the West. A technique called klečanje is used to make Pirot kilims. This involves combining different- coloured threads of the weft to produce patterns narrower than the overall width of the weaving. The Pirot kilims are identical on both sides. This is achieved by pulling the weft strands tightly downward.

The Pirot kilim colours and ornaments fascinate one at first glance. The colours are vibrant, last for centuries and are vital in determining a kilim’s age. The Pirot patterns are rich and diverse and may represent anything from a girl’s yearning, to sorrow, love and happiness. They also testify to Serbia’s turbulent history. An authority in ornament history among the Serbs, Jelica Belović-Bernadžikovska divides the Pirot kilim patterns into five major periods: Mythological, Christian, Turkish, Classical and Modern. The more prominent ones from the Mythological Period include motifs such as kornjača, kuke, žabice, kuka okretuša... in the Christian period the favourites were the cross, church, candlestick, while in the Turkish period − frequent motifs were the tower, cannon and birds... There were also plenty of geometrical elements, as different influences interacted. The Pirot women-weavers enriched the traditional folk ornaments with oriental motifs, which they arranged into new and original combinations. This has long since become typical of Pirot-style kilim making. The Classical Period for kilim making was in the 19th century. That period was marked by the most bountiful and diverse ornaments and the application of new and sophisticated techniques. Floral motifs, especially roses and flowery branches, were prevalent in the motifs of this period.

The colours are clear and pleasant, with red prevailing most often as the foundation for contrasting emphases. Red dominates in a number of nuances, ranging from bright red to maroon. The colours and ornaments used, the composition patterns and the type of weaving have all made the Pirot kilim one of the finest in the world of kilim making.

As of several years ago, the Pirot kilim has enjoyed a status of intellectual property protection. Some 100 patterns have obtained trademark status, so that now the Pirot kilim may be made in other parts of the country. However, the weavers must avail themselves of the manufacturing technique and apply specific colours, wool and loom dimensions. Nowadays, only several score of women weave the Pirot kilim in the Niš region. Their small numbers are indicative of a crisis in the three-century long tradition of this trade, but also of the exclusivity invited by the small number of newly-woven kilims.