Central Asian Textiles & Rugs

In Bukhara, a bride’s family sits sewing, strip by strip, her dowry. Central Asian textiles come from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and the Silk Road oases of Bukhara, Samarkand and the Fergana Valley. Suzani, from the Persian for needle, are large embroidered covers and hangings, their medallions, vines and pomegranates worked in silk on cotton. Ikat robes and chapan coats in abr, or cloud, patterns were resist-dyed thread by thread before weaving. Bugzhoma and segusha bedding ornaments, Turkmen tent bands and mirror bags, dervish hats, Koran covers and jajim flatweaves record the life of settled towns and nomadic camps alike, with Kurdish and Berber weaving from further west.

Silk ikat has a soft blurred edge that reads beautifully at scale. A suzani hung above a bed or along a long hallway gives a room warmth and pattern. The Silk Road, shortened to a hallway.