Traditional Carpet I

A handmade woven carpet, produced in Alaya using the kilim technique, in which the warp and weft threads interlock without knots, creating a lightweight yet exceptionally durable textile. The geometric motifs—emblematic of Asia Minor and Anatolian tradition—are rendered in multicoloured wool yarns dyed with natural pigments.
The design combines “six-wing” motifs, “eyes,” vegetal symbols, and protective signs (amulets), organised in vertical bands—an arrangement characteristic of workshops in south-west Asia Minor. This piece comprises one third of the original carpet, later cut by the children of Georgios Nouveloglou so that it could be shared as a family heirloom.
The carpet is deeply associated with the memory of the expulsion: it served as refuge for 12-year-old Georgios Nouveloglou and his siblings—Anna, Despina, Tasia, Argyro, and Panagiotis—during the perilous refugee journey to Piraeus. The children slept curled up inside it, and later Georgios used it as a warm blanket during illness. A woven witness to life and survival.
Donated to the collection of the Alaya Association by Stathis Nouveloglou, it is exhibited at the ALAYA Cultural Centre