Felt – A fabric from the origins of humankind
Felt is said to be the oldest of all manmade materials, produced by the simple but laborious process of pressing together wool water and soap. Old scraps of felt have been discovered dating back almost 9000 years, predating weaving with origins in the Neolithic period. Felt is as relevant today as it always has been with a wide and versatile range of uses including, as a dampener in the automotive industry, decorations, clothing, children’s toys, in drum kits, pianos, assorted musical instruments and billiards tables. But it is perhaps its older and more traditional uses that hold the most allure for the collector. Historically felt was and still is used as a source of warmth and shelter being made into shoes, hats, clothes, tent coverings, doors, blankets, rugs and votive images.
Felt has long been used between the Balkans and Mongolia where it has played an important role in the lives of many nomadic peoples. In Anatolia in central Turkey felt is thought to have been made since the Hittite kingdom (14th century BC) as wall carvings have been found in the Hittite cities of both Bogazköy and Yazilikaya picturing people wearing felt caps and clothing. In the Taurus mountain regions in Turkey shepherds still wear the curious stiff felt cloaks called kepenek designed to protect them from the elements, both the winter cold and the summer sun. Felt is also still used in Anatolian regions to make blankets, rugs, and mats not to mention the tall conical hats (sikke) worn by the Mevlevi dervishes. Felt in Anatolia represents a seventeen thousand year old tradition of utilizing this most practical and useful of materials.
In the central Asian republics there is also a long and considerable tradition of using felt as an important day to day material. Kyrgyzstan is a notable example of a place where the use of felt is still very relevant today. Kyrgyz culture is historically nomadic with connections to the infamous Mongol hordes. The women in Kyrgyzstan are traditionally the felt makers and still make boots, slippers, kalpak hats and the splendid shyrdak rugs. The Kyrgyzstani shyrdak felt rugs are famous for their bright contrasting colours and symbolic motifs traditionally used as floor coverings in yurts and exchanged as presents on special occasions. Now the Kyrgyzstani felt industry is very much directed towards export and a small but functional tourism industry, and the manufacture of traditional shyrdak rugs has moved on to a new age whilst still maintain its roots and cultural relevance. The shyrdak is made by stitching two contrasting coloured bits of felt together, a pattern is then marked on the top layer in chalk and the painstakingly and laboriously cut out with the felt maker frequently sharpening the knife which will blunt quickly. This creates a stunning positive/negative style visual image usually full of symbolic motif images that represent things around them i.e. the water, goat horns a yurt etc. The felt that is cut from the top layer is not wasted and is used to create another mirror image shyrdak with the reverse colours of the original shyrdak.
Felt is a material of history of the present and the future and represents mankind’s ability to interact with his natural environment in a more healthy and unassuming way, sourcing a useful and harvestable raw material (wool) and harnessing its energies to make everything from a place to live to a cloak to protect you from the harsh elements of the Asian steppes. Felt is more relevant today than ever historically before as it symbolize are ability to live together in unity with nature.
Felt has long been used between the Balkans and Mongolia where it has played an important role in the lives of many nomadic peoples. In Anatolia in central Turkey felt is thought to have been made since the Hittite kingdom (14th century BC) as wall carvings have been found in the Hittite cities of both Bogazköy and Yazilikaya picturing people wearing felt caps and clothing. In the Taurus mountain regions in Turkey shepherds still wear the curious stiff felt cloaks called kepenek designed to protect them from the elements, both the winter cold and the summer sun. Felt is also still used in Anatolian regions to make blankets, rugs, and mats not to mention the tall conical hats (sikke) worn by the Mevlevi dervishes. Felt in Anatolia represents a seventeen thousand year old tradition of utilizing this most practical and useful of materials.
In the central Asian republics there is also a long and considerable tradition of using felt as an important day to day material. Kyrgyzstan is a notable example of a place where the use of felt is still very relevant today. Kyrgyz culture is historically nomadic with connections to the infamous Mongol hordes. The women in Kyrgyzstan are traditionally the felt makers and still make boots, slippers, kalpak hats and the splendid shyrdak rugs. The Kyrgyzstani shyrdak felt rugs are famous for their bright contrasting colours and symbolic motifs traditionally used as floor coverings in yurts and exchanged as presents on special occasions. Now the Kyrgyzstani felt industry is very much directed towards export and a small but functional tourism industry, and the manufacture of traditional shyrdak rugs has moved on to a new age whilst still maintain its roots and cultural relevance. The shyrdak is made by stitching two contrasting coloured bits of felt together, a pattern is then marked on the top layer in chalk and the painstakingly and laboriously cut out with the felt maker frequently sharpening the knife which will blunt quickly. This creates a stunning positive/negative style visual image usually full of symbolic motif images that represent things around them i.e. the water, goat horns a yurt etc. The felt that is cut from the top layer is not wasted and is used to create another mirror image shyrdak with the reverse colours of the original shyrdak.
Felt is a material of history of the present and the future and represents mankind’s ability to interact with his natural environment in a more healthy and unassuming way, sourcing a useful and harvestable raw material (wool) and harnessing its energies to make everything from a place to live to a cloak to protect you from the harsh elements of the Asian steppes. Felt is more relevant today than ever historically before as it symbolize are ability to live together in unity with nature.
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