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I met Mr Suat Çapas,
owner of SUDE (SOO-deh), several
decades ago when he opened a carpet
shop in Sultanahmet, Istanbul.
He was
different from most carpet sellers,
as he had a lively interest in the
beauties of these traditional handicraft
works of art. He wanted to sell only
high-quality pieces hand-made of
pure wool and natural dyes.
Over the years he has increased in
knowledge, and now specializes in fine
old pieces, mostly from the 1800s,
but some from later periods that were
made of authentic materials.
"In 1825, cochineal was
first imported to the Ottoman
Empire from Spain for
use in dyes. The first chemical dyes
were imported in 1852 from Europe," he
says.
"These dyes changed the character
of the carpets. When local carpet-weavers
came to use these dyes, they gave up
using the traditional herbal and other
natural dyes.
"By the late 1800s, Ottoman society
was changing, and the traditional handicrafts
also changed.
In the 1900s, use of synthetic dyes became
widespread, then nylon and
other synthetic fibers were introduced,
and the making of carpets changed completely.
"A few people made a conscious, determined
effort to use natural dyes and pure
wool, but these were rare aberrations
from the norm."
Suat Bey tells me that he takes care
to know the provenance of
the items he stocks, and to make sure
they have been acquired ethically.
(Rare carpets have been stolen from
mosques and museums, and sold to some
dealers, who sell them to customers.)
Prices at Su-De reflect
the artistic, historic and market value
of the items. Most pieces for
sale here are rare,
and their prices are higher than for
modern non-authentic carpets of comparable
size. If you're just looking for a
nice souvenir of your trip to Turkey,
Su-De may not be the place to look
for it. (Instead, follow
these guidelines).
But if you are serious about
traditional textiles and rare pieces
of woven art, you may want to visit,
look, sip tea or
coffee and
chat with Suat Bey.
His shop is up the hill just west
of Sultanahmet and
the Hippodrome.
Walk west on Divan
Yolu, turn left
on Klodfarer Caddesi,
pass the Hotel
Nina and Hotel Hali,
then look left for SUDE,
facing the more-or-less open space
called Binbirdirek Meydani (beneath
which there is a Byzantine cistern,
by the way).
When you visit, please mention
TTP. Here's why.
SUDE
Old Rugs & Antique Textiles
Binbirdirek Meydani, Iletisim Han No.
7/2
Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel & Fax: +90 (212) 516 5488
Mobile: +90 (533) 238 8916
sude@sude-antiques.com
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