THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BIRD MOTIF AND D？？EMEALTI CARPETS WITH BIRD MOTIF

Throughout settlements in Anatolia Turkish carpets are still being woven, each standing out in its own way. Those carpets, with an enriched tradition of motif, pattern and composition past to present; and woven by the capable hands of countryside ladies, represent the peak beauty in Turkish carpet art. In many areas carpet weaving lives on both as an artistic preoccupation and a means of living. One such area is the D？？emealt？ district of carpet weaving fame, located in the Antalya region. It is possible to come across more than one motif in D？？emealt？ carpets. While the expression is mostly abstract with motifs such as hand, millstone, camel, scorpion, saddlebag water etc., animal figures also sometimes join in on the picture. The bird motifs representing immortality, spirit, happiness and joy can be both different bird species or bird parts (beak, foot, eye etc.). Field survey conducted in the subject area revealed products woven with bird motif carpet weaving style, depicting bird motifs in a perceptible manner. Bird motif symbolises many meanings and beliefs in mythology. In this study the features of bird motif were assessed generally, and an exemplar D？？emealt？ carpet with a different take on bird motif and 4 different motif features was evaluated separately from both motif features and composition features aspects