Flying Carpets: the Production and Consumption of Tradition and Mystique

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay between the local material culture and the global forces in the construction of an "authentic" cultural product, in this case, the Turkish carpet. The preliminary results of an ethnographical study on the production, marketing, and consumption of handmade Turkish carpets (piled, knotted) and kilims (flat woven) are presented. We discuss how contemporary carpets trek the thin line between being authentic, aesthetic and cultural objects versus exotic souvenirs. A new wave of revivalism amidst a general decline in carpets indicates that authenticity is emergent. We discuss the issues of representation of the aesthetics of the Oriental "Other" in the global relations. While the traditional has become modem, some modem Turkish carpets recreate authenticity. In this process, tradition and mystique of cultural products may come to be branded.

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