Bursting with floral designs, this Central Asian textile was probably part of a dowry. A bride brings many textiles to her new home, and one of them is often a small prayer mat (djoinamaz). The void in its center takes the shape of a mihrab, a niche found within the walls of mosques. The mihrab indicates the direction of Mecca, towards which devout Muslims pray five times a day. The prayer mat is both a religious threshold, connecting secular and spiritual worlds, and a physical threshold, separating private and communal spaces in the home. It also stands as a social threshold, marking a young woman’s transition from her childhood home to the home of her husband. What in your home connects you to another place? GO The sounds you are hearing were recorded in the place where this artwork was made. Recorded fall, 2006, Shoberghan, Afghanistan. Label Text from "Embroidered Treasures: Textiles from Central Asia," November 13, 2011 - July 8, 2012. The ever present influence of Islam in Central Asian countries is reflected in this embroidery, which could serve as a prayer mat (djoinamaz). The void in the center of this textile, created by the absence of stitched designs, takes the shape of an architectural motif, the mihrab, which is a pointed archway or niche found within the walls of mosques. The mihrab indicates the direction of Mecca, towards which devout Muslims pray five times a day. In keeping with Muslim practice, the motifs decorating this embroidery are floral rather than figural. The four tree-of-life patterns at each side of the mihrab are laden with pomegranates. In Central Asia, pomegranates are symbolic of fertility due to the fruit’s many seeds. Since this textile was almost certainly part of a young woman’s dowry, the abundance of pomegranates could suggest the bride’s hopes and prayers for a fruitful union as she moves into her new home with her husband. [PHOTO] Mihrab from Tilla Kari Madrasa (Islamic school) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan., 1646–1660. Source: ARTstor. Islamic Art and Architecture Collection. Sheila Blair, Jonathan Bloom, and Walter Denny. 1983. Photo credit: Walter B. Denny