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Mihrab or Jai-namaz Suzani
Bukhara Khanate (in present-day Uzbekistan)
18th century
- Medium
- Linen, plain weave; pieced; embroidered with silk
- Classification
- Textile
- Dimensions
- 138.8 × 87.8 cm (54 5/8 × 34 1/2 in.)
- Culture
- Uzbekistan
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Textiles
- Credit line
- Gift of Robert Allerton
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Suzanis, from the Persian (Farsi) term suzan, meaning needle, are large, hand-embroidered textiles traditionally made by women in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan as part of a bride’s dowry. Larger examples [see 2019.794] would have been used as a wall hanging or bed cover. Bukhāra, Uzbekistan, is well-known for the suzani style with its embroidered frame, as displayed on this example. This arch-like design represents a mihrab, the niche in a mosque that indicates the direction of Makkah (Mecca) for Muslim prayers. When hanging near an entryway, a mihrab suzani serves to welcome guests.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
