Large Qylym from Behar Toska

€550,00

This is a large qylym (kilim) of 215 x 290 cm in unusual earth tones and perfect condition.  It is unused and over 50 years old, made by Behar’s mother back in the day.  Unusually for such...

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Product Description

This is a large qylym (kilim) of 215 x 290 cm in unusual earth tones and perfect condition.  It is unused and over 50 years old, made by Behar’s mother back in the day.  Unusually for such a large rug, it was woven as a single piece.

Behar Toska lives in the village of Margegaj on the outskirts of Bajram Curri.  His traditional family home shelters his wife, 7 year old daughter, 5 year old son AND his mother, who made the 3 carpets they’re offering here, as well as two sisters who suffer from what is called here “smundje e tokes” or ‘sickness of the earth.’  When I tried to figure out what this was in English, he told me “They just fall down.  On the earth.  Then it’s like they’re dead for a while.”  I thought about it.  “Do they shake?”  YES.  “Epilepsy?”  Yes, yes!  It’s that.  When I asked what kind of treatment they get here he said “What treatment?  Here?”

His dream is (sadly for us) to save enough to move his family somewhere where his sisters can have better treatment, and his small children have hopes for a brighter future.  He thinks Sweden is the place to go  – paradise on earth.  For five years he was a prize-winning boxer in neighboring Kosova “So you know, if it was just  me, I’d go to America.  But I have to think about the family.”

Additional information

Weight 11 kg
Dimensions 290 × 214 cm