The New England Rug Society and the Textile Museum Associates of Southern California present a virtual lecture by Ahmet Balkan, taking place on Saturday 18 April 2026.
The lecture focuses on a distinctive group of Karakeçili carpets from northwest Anatolia. The Karakeçili, a Turkmen tribal group documented in Ottoman sources since the 15th century, developed a recognizable weaving tradition, particularly in the 19th century. Among their pile carpets are examples featuring star-centered octagonal motifs that recall the so-called “Holbein” patterns known from 15th–16th century paintings and carpets.
Balkan examines a core group of Karakeçili weavings that consistently combine two related göl forms: a Holbein-type star motif and a second star-and-hooks design with clear Central Asian affinities. By comparing these with classical Holbein carpets and later Bergama rugs from around 1700–1800, the lecture argues for continuity through tribal transmission and visual memory rather than simple revival or imitation.
Ahmet Balkan is an architect and carpet historian based in Munich. His research focuses on Turkic tribal weaving traditions across Anatolia and Central Asia. He is currently pursuing doctoral research at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and is also involved in a project on Caucasian flatweaves at the Theodor Springmann Foundation in Heidelberg.
The lecture will be held online via Zoom.
Registration: