Image courtesy of the Madeline Weinrib Atelier
I stumbled upon Suzanis when I was browsing through World Imports one day. Although this blog originally started out as a place where I could write about Indian and South Asian Art, Design and Architeture, I digress this time, to write about an embroidery tradition which had its origin in Uzbekistan, along the old Silk Route. And when you see these embroidered beauties, you will see why I would have an affinity for these textiles.
Although Suzanis are associated primarily with Uzbekistan, they seem to have been found all along the ancient Silk Route, from Sindh through northern Afghanistan to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and as far west as Turkey. Embroidery was a craft that brought women together for the practical purpose of creating bedspreads and other household linen for the dowry of young girls. This was true of most ancient cultures. In Uzbekistan, the work of such embroidery began when a daughter was born and continued until her dowry was complete. In certain affluent provinces, the dowry was expected to include at least ten suzanis of varying sizes to serve different functions. Some were used as bed coverings, some as room dividers, or as prayer rugs or wrapping cloths.
The base fabric is traditionally a silk-cotton blend with a silk warp and cotton weft. (See my earlier post on Mashroo). The embroidery technique, using silk thread is done with two main types of stitches: the Basma or Bukhara couching which is like a satin stitch and can cover large areas; and the chain stitch which is done with a hook called the tambour. The base fabric is first washed with a soft 'tea wash'. The pattern is drawn on the fabric and was usually worked in panels, which were then assembled. This allowed for a division of labour on each piece. The silk threads used for embroidery are dyed with vegetable dyes - pomegranate, indigo, madder and sumac - again very similar to the dyes used in other indigenous fabric traditions (see my post on Kalamkari). The result is a piece of art with the most glorious mellowing of colours over time.
For a detailed description on this process, check out http://www.marlamallett.com/suzanis.htm
There is an excellent collection of antique suzanis on this site.
Also check out http://www.oldworldimports.net for more samples of suzanis.
Image courtesy of www.anahitagallery.com
Pat Stanton on Stanistan Designs combines vintage suzanis with beautiful furniture frames and the results are absolutely delicious. Check out her website at www.stanistandesign.com.
