Nul (the horizontal loom); shapar (the tablet-loom, for narrow textiles); zok (a specific tapestry technique combining cotton and metallic thread construction)
The weaving of kilim -- a tapestry technique producing rugs, carpets, garments, and bags from wool thread -- documented in detail by the Syrian Heritage Archive Project as one of the most popular weaves in Syria and the wider Arab world, genuinely distinct in material, technique, and social context from the archive's already-documented Damascene gold-and-silver brocade (CRAFT-2741). Syrian weavers employ several distinct tapestry sub-techniques: the plain kilim weave, in which weft is densely and tightly beaten downward to fully hide the warp; slitweave, used to create geometric and diagonal patterns by separating wefts into blocks of color with a deliberate slit left between them; and shared warp, in which weft threads are interlocked instead of left open as slits. Two distinct loom types are documented: the simple tablet-loom, or shapar, used by nomad women and some professional urban weavers to produce narrow textiles such as bands, belts, and straps; and the larger, more complex horizontal loom, known as nul, which is assumed to have first appeared in Syria around the mid-third century CE and, being lightweight and portable, is specifically favored by nomadic groups for producing kilims and other tapestry weaves. A genuinely distinct named sub-technique, zok, combines cotton and metallic thread construction and is specifically named after a famous historical Aleppo weaver who specialized in it; zok weaving became well known throughout Syria and developed a particularly strong export market to Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey between the two World Wars, typically used for interior upholstery and, at times, for abas (open robes). Weaving in Syria today survives as a living practice among a limited number of groups: Bedouins in the desert, who weave black goat-hair tents in Damascus, Idlib, and Hama, pieced together with brightly colored bands; rural households; and urban weavers organized into family workshops in large cities. The Bedouin of the region around Deir Ezzor, on the southern Euphrates near the Iraqi border, are specifically documented for kilims woven of sturdy wool and dyed with vegetable-based combinations.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Not independently inscribed
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