A rectangular embroidered hanging or cover (suzani or borpush) consisting of a black cotton twill foundation (pieced) embroidered with roundels and floral designs in multicolored silk threads. The central field contains a 17' diameter roundel surrounded by white fleur-de-lys shaped motifs in the center and four adjacent floral roundels, each 13' in diameter. The remaining designs which fill the central field are large and small flowers and stems extending outward from the central roundel. Highly stylized flowers with elaborate stems and leaves are situated in the four corners of the central field adjacent to floral roundels. A 7' wide border composed of rows of alternating abstract designs frames the center field. One row contains white "bow-shaped) designs surrounded on both sides with narrow zig-zag motifs; the other has embroidered cartouches with designs that resemble kufic script, but are apparently only decorative. Motifs are worked in magenta, white, brown, and several shades each of purple/violet, blue, green, yellow/gold and orange using a combination of laid and couched stitches (Bokhara or Roumanian). The ground fabric is compoven cotton printed in red, pink, and white floral patterns arranged in square formats as if for handkerchiefs. The backing is composed of eight pieces of various sizes and is hand stitched to the foundation or ground fabric in a pattern which mirrors the design on the front (i.e. around the border and roundels). An interlining or slight batting is present, at least in some areas between the top and backing. The edges are bound in a red twill cloth using whip stitches and a running stitch in black thread. Piecing and embroidery appear to be entirely by hand. ---- Central Asian Women traditionally devoted much time to creating beautiful textiles for their dowries. Urban women embroidered hangings and household textiles with silken flowers representing the blossoms they enjoy within the private gardens and interior courtyards that served as their domestic sanctuaries. These embroideries are often called suzani (from the Persian word for ‘needle’, ‘suzan’.) This small hanging (‘nimsuzani’) or cover (‘borpush’) is adorned with floral rosettes emphasizing the circle, an archaic motif associated with the sun. Large floral designs alsong the vertical axis end in crescent shapes, above and below the central rosette, which may be related to moon imagery. Long oval areas within the outer border contain abstract designs reminiscent of inscriptions on Persian rugs and other Islamic textiles. -The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum. Baltimore, MD: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.