A SUZANI FOR SPRING

Suzani Room at People's Imports

The room on the side of People's Imports with the beds and multitude of African statues i like to call the "Suzani Room." Many customers ask what that means, and it has been that way since last October when a tall woman with dark hair and fashionable dress came in at the end of one slow weekday, looking for these beautiful bright tapestries ("suzanis") which had been half-hidden in a corner by a cabinet. She took her time examining every one of these, even after the store closed, asking us questions i should have known about the origin and design, and told us emphatically as she made her purchase that we should put these magnificent works of art in a more visible place. Honestly, her intent, type-A personality is the sort that often throws my laid-back self nervous, but her energy was unusually bright, like that of a goddess.


As Kat and i were given duties to swiftly redecorate this room for a private party that weekend, this woman's advice went through our minds. A day or so later, our friend Sierra throwing the party told us to make the room look more "flowery" and "goddess-inspired" - maybe with something like this (picking up one of the suzanis with a flowery circle at center). Serendipity. i mentioned our recent late-afternoon customer's similar suggestion and she responded that "well, goddesses can be demanding."

Detailed picture of People's star Suzani

So i picked up this suzani tapestry and hung it on the wall by the bed. The goddess would be pleased. Then i picked up another from the pile, and it was one of the most divine wall-hangings i had ever seen. Purple and huge spread out, with a pink eight-pointed star in the center -- a symbol associated with Isis and Inanna -- this one begged to be placed prominently. I hung it over a central doorway to the room i now called the "suzani room"....and then i hung up more, mostly dark swirly raspberry red with embroidered yellow and white flowers and green branches and the artist's signature. Later in the day we finished setup of the room.
it was my first redecorating project since starting, so i was pretty happy.
And, party time came, and the goddess was indeed pleased.

Fast-forward to March and the suzanis are still just as prominent, and with the coming of spring and collective retail remerchandising, it feels wrong to move them. In fact, new ones are coming in and they are just as beautiful and goddess-inspired. Circles, flowers, the seasons and the wheel of life: Persephone's voice echoes through as if via a scrying mirror.

Suzanis, embroidered tribal textiles from central Asia, notably Uzbekistan, are a landmark craft of nomadic Uzbek people and their land. The name origin is Persian (Farsi) and means "needlework." They are made from cotton and silk in a variety of colors and styles based on region and many are one of a kind. Traditionally they were made by or for girls and used as bride-dowry in marriage.
Uzbekistan, in the highlands of central Asia, is on the overland Silk Road from the Mediterranean to China by the mostly evaporated Aral Sea, and is the home of legendary Samarqand and its bazaars. Mostly windy desert and grassland savanna but mountainous and greener along its eastern end, it is a land of livestock herding and textile trading trying to recover from drought caused by massive irrigation projects by the Soviet government in the mid-20th century. The land has gone through Persian, Islamic, Mongol, Russian and Soviet rule before establishing autonomy in the early 1990's.

Uzbekistan

Symbols commonly represented in traditional suzanis include:
Pomegranates/Fruits/Red colors - fertility, abundance, blood, mother earth. Hellenic/Mediterranean influence from the west, beginning with Alexander "the great" of Macedonia
Vines/Grapes - Hellenic influence
Boteh (paisley, teardrop) - Persian influence from the south, seen on Persian rugs
Tulips, Hyacinths - Persian "oasis/garden" influence, seen on Persian rugs
Yellows, Browns - the desert or grassland
Palak/Circle/wheel - seasons and the sun, continuity, survival. pre-Islamic Uzbek/Turkic highland tribal, across mountain ranges and once all of Central Asia.
Many-pointed star with dots surrounding/Dark blues, purples - the heavens: sun, moon, and orbiting planets. pre-Islamic Central Asian tribal.

The silk material historically was the main trade from India and the lands south and east of the Hindu Kush mountain range. Cotton grows on the Uzbek steppe and is a traditional export crop.

People's newest Suzani features the wheel motif

The suzani fabric's softness and size make it perfect for blankets, throws, wall hangings, or shawls. We have some rectangular pieces and some square, many with red, burgundy, or black field, but also yellow or brown fields speckled with tiny mirrors. In the modern day. they are also made into pillows, dresses, and tablecloths, and the motifs are found across the textile industry from fashion boots to rugs. Some rugs in our store from Afghanistan and around central Asia are labeled "suzani" noting the silk embroidery on them, though the patterns are unique to those lands and local cultures.

If you find yourself wanting to decorate for spring or honor the divine feminine with bright colors and tribal symbols of nature, the stars, and the seasons, we can show you some tapestries that tell a girl's life work or a story of the fruits of a desert crossroad.

sources:

http://www.bukhara-carpets.com/making/suzani.html
Wikipedia: Uzbekistan
www.uzbek-crafts.com