Antique carpets move to Stage Center

The salvaging of antique rugs and kilims, a paragon of the Turkish cultural heritage, through their sale by ITKIB Auctions represents the injection of new life into the domestic economy. ITKIB Auctioning Enterprises Inc., founded on the initiative of the Union of Istanbul Carpet Exporters, is now open for business in its headquarters located in an historical building in the Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, the heart of the world of Turkish handwoven carpets.

Consonant with its goal of offering to merchants and consumers a quantity of rare handwoven rugs originating in private homes by means of auctions conducted in a sedate and relaxed atmosphere, ITKIB Auctions has created surroundings characterized by an atmosphere inviting to both the owners of antique rugs and those engaged in the trade of used carpets. Handwoven carpets are recognized for their quality of permanence, which endows them within economic value and the possibility of being reclaimed for recirculation in the economy. It is widely known that used carpets because of their value as an antique can tie sold for a sum greater than their valuation at the time of the original purchase or for more than that current for new carpets. Since previously no local milieu was available that protected the carpet consumer and where both those who wished to sell their used rugs with an economic value and those who to buy could conduct mutually satisfactory transactions, the founding principle of the firm was to facilitate contacts between the original owners of the rugs and their purchasers. When one considers the fact that the rug culture is one of the oldest cultural accumulations in Turkey, it seems only natural that a re-introduction onto the scene of the cultural accumulation will broaden the horizons in the manufacture of new carpets and the presentation of the old and the new rugs together will act as an impetus to domestic manufacturers and merchants alike.

The fact that Turkey lies at the juncture of a geopolitical and cultural bridge between the East and West was critical in the decision by ITKIB Auctions to undertake a corresponding role with respect to handwoven carpets. One of the essential functions of ITKIB Auctions is to supply not only antique Turkish rugs to Western merchants but also carpets from countries like Turkmenistan, Iran, and Afghanistan and from the Caucasus.

ITKIB Auctions is ready to provide its services for the sale of carpets as well as of a diverse selection of goods that possess both artistic and economic value. Active on both the national and international level, ITKIB Auctions is aiming to expand its . scale of operations by holding close-out auctions of textiles and rugs for the liquidation of surplus in manufacturer's stock. Through the creation of a win-win situation for both manufacturers and merchants, the sector will experience a truly marked stimulation effect.

A proportion of the profits earned by ITKIB Auctions are projected to be allocated to the sponsorship of such cultural activities as exhibitions, and thus, continuing to serve the higher aims of art and culture.

With the achievement of the firm's short-term goal of online dissemination of information about its activities on the Internet, ITKIB Auctions will be capable of expanding the reality of Turkey as an historical textile center and, equally important, of mining it into a bright future.