W ithout any sketched designs and designers, the unique tapestry-woven carpet from Pirot has endured for more than five hundred years. Created over the course of centuries through devoted weav- ing, it carries within it joy and restlessness. - A Pirot carpet weaver is like a poet, she puts her heart and soul into the rug, both when she works for herself and for others. Embroidered in her creations are love, long- ing and young girl’s dreams, cravings and pride, expressed in craftsmanship, says art historian Radmila Vlatković, museum ad- visor and author of the book ‘Kilim pictur- esque letter’. Initially made as saddle blankets, the Pirot kilim was made for the Ottoman Turks and their army, while in wealthier town hous- es they covered the floors and decorated the walls and furniture. It was created pre- cisely in this pretty town in the very south of Serbia because the sheep that graze on the surrounding mountains of Stara Planina (Balkan Mountain) and Suva Planina have al- ways produced high-quality wool, and also because Pirot sits along the road connecting Niš, Sofia and Constantinople, East and West. - In this centre of trade, fairs were held that lasted for up to a month. In addition to traders from Serbia, Turks and Greeks also came here and carried the wonderful Pirot kilims around the world, continues Radmila. She adds how the sheared fleece would first be graded and sorted on Stara Plani- na on the basis of quality, then cleaned in hot water, rinsed and dried. It is disentan- gled by hand, layered in rolls, carded with a spindle and spinner, spun into threads and then woven on a loom. Over time, as a sign that could be rec- ognisable to the owner, patterns were wo- ven into the corners of the rug, and with the arrival of the Ottomans those adorn- ments were perfected, so that the kilim or
FRANCUSKA BOMBONA Priča kaže da su francuski vojnici, kad su 1918. oslobodili Pirot, deci delili bombone, a ćilimarke su u znak zahvalnosti osmislile šaru koja je nazvana francuska bombona. Ovaj ćilim, uz mnoge druge, deo je stalne postavke Muzeja Ponišavlja u Pirotu, koji je spomenik kulture od izuzetnog značaja. FRENCH BONBON According to one story, French soldiers gave sweets to children when they liberated Pirot in 1918. As a sign of gratitude, the rug makers invented a pattern called the French bonbon. This rug, alongside many others, forms part of the permanent exhi- bition of the Museum of Ponišvalje in Pirot, which is classed as a cultural monument of exceptional significance.
Pirot Rug became and remained intention- al rare, due to its exceptional beauty and dif- ficult production. - I most like weaving a turtle. Whoever learns that pattern then knows everything. We have a catalogue of old protected pat- terns and work on the basis of that. Foreign- ers place orders the most, while they’re al- so taken as gifts to foreign diplomats, says Maja Ćirić (42), the youngest weaver in Pirot, adding that these kilims become increasing- ly beautiful the more they are used. - In every kilim it is embroidered wheth- er I worked joyfully or with sadness... If some slight mistake is made, only the weaver knows there’s something that shouldn’t be. They know that they’ve woven into the kil- im some of their own anguish that no one else can see - reveals weaver Lela Panić (52). She recalls an English woman order- ing patterns that were such that the rug would look a hundred years old. In time, she became a regular customer, and on one rug she asked for her name to be included. Lela explains how the rug is a gift to bring happiness and well-being into a home. Those with a wreath-shaped pattern are a symbol of unity and longevity. Scattered guelder roses are loved by girls, while bomb patterns are gifted to men for success in the business world. The dearest pattern to her, she says, is the Mara Monastery design, which hides the story of the luckless lov- ing Mara, who went to a monastery and weaved there, while one of the most diffi- cult is Rašić’s pattern. - Colonel Rašić was in the Caucasus at the end of the 19 th century, in the compa- ny of King Milan Obrenović, and from there he brought the sample of a pattern that the weavers accepted. The base motifs are con- centric rhomboids, there are lots of details and a real richness of colours, says Lela. Svetlana Manić (78), one of Pirot’s old-
Kvadratni metar pirotskog ćilima košta oko dve stotine evra, a jedan omanji ćilim izrađuje se do dva meseca Pirot rugs cost around two hundred euros per square metre, while one smaller rug takes up to two months to create
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