From the day it came to existence up until today, the human race has built some tools, instruments and structures for meeting its necessities arising from the needs. Starting from the day of their production, these items go through a process of aging and dissolution. The deterioration or dissolution periods of these items and structures vary depending on the ambient conditions, type of use and their materials. Protecting and passing on these structures and items (which reflect the socio-cultural structure of their era) to future generations, is a subject which is significantly focused on by today's global society. A number of studies have been carried out in order to provide protection and safety of these values (which are denominated as cultural heritage) together with the principles and decisions set forth by the national and international institutions and corporations, and these studies are still being carried out today. While these principles and decisions are mostly reviewed in terms of architectural structures, the protection of carpets, rugs and other flat woven works is also reviewed in the light of these principles. The lack of principles and recommendations specific to the context of the maintenance, preservation and repair of wovens (which are completely different from other works in terms of their structure, technique and raw material), disrupts the decision-making and intervention processes and sometimes it even causes irreversable damages arising from personal opinions. In this respect, it is important to prepare principles specific to the field.
In this study, after a literature review of legislations, laws and decisions of national and international institutions, a set of suggestions related to the principles of the maintenance, protection and restoration of Carpets, rugs and other flat weaved works, were prepared. While preparing these principles, some articles have been revised from relevant sources in order to provide a definition which is suitable for the wovens.
Keywords: Carpet, rug, flat weaving, the principles of conservation and restoration, cultural heritage