The large town of Sivas is located in northeast Anatolia (Turkey) near the headwaters of the Kizilirmak River. With its sister city of Zara, it once held a large Armenian population whose urban tastes ran to polished and fine Persian weaves, including textiles, rather than the rough-and-ready local village and tribal Yuruk and Kurdish production. This meant that antique carpets from Sivas looked elsewhere for their inspiration. That elsewhere is Tabriz, the closest large Persian weaving center. The industry is not ancient and probably does not predate the late 19th century. In any case, it cannot precede its Tabriz inspiration. When the Armenians were driven out in the early 1920s, carpet production collapsed, and the best antique Sivas pieces predate that period. [...]
The large town of Sivas is located in northeast Anatolia (Turkey) near the headwaters of the Kizilirmak River. With its sister city of Zara, it once held a large Armenian population whose urban tastes ran to polished and fine Persian weaves, including textiles, rather than the rough-and-ready local village and tribal Yuruk and Kurdish production. This meant that antique carpets from Sivas looked elsewhere for their inspiration. That elsewhere is Tabriz, the closest large Persian weaving center. The industry is not ancient and probably does not predate the late 19th century. In any case, it cannot precede its Tabriz inspiration. When the Armenians were driven out in the early 1920s, carpet production collapsed, and the best antique Sivas pieces predate that period.
Influenced by Persian Tabriz carpets, that meant weaving room size carpets and larger rather than only scatter rugs. Then comes the construction. The foundation is all cotton on Sivas rugs and the wool pile, in symmetric (Turkish) knots, is kept short. The wool pile is softer than the brushy, firm Tabriz wool and the knot tufts lie down. There are two wefts between knot rows. The density is very fine for a Turkish rug and in line with Persian Tabriz practices: 150 knots per square inch on large carpets to nearly 300 knots per square inch on smaller pieces. The selvages are broad and flat in the Turkish manner.
The colors are generally restrained often with details in synthetic orange or yellow. Ivory, oyster, beige, rose, and buff fields are common. The Armenian dye masters were up on European methods and materials, and natural dyes were replaced early on by Western imports. Many of the rugs have been treated to harmonize and reduce their color schemes to the minimalist palettes that are currently popular.
The carpet designs are usually medallions with en-suite corners or allover classic Persian patterns. Turkish Ghiordes rugs were also used as inspiration. The execution of the finer rugs indicates the use of detailed designs on scale paper. Vertical stripes are particularly prevalent, and it is often said that any striped Turkish rug of uncertain origin must be from Sivas. Vertical stripes display textile influences.
Some of the better grades of Turkish rugs from Sivas are superior to the bazaar quality Persian Tabriz rugs. Antique Sivas carpets are still relatively unknown in the United States and are more frequent in Europe, especially in France where their classic patterns are empathetic with traditional furniture.