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Suzani with Prayer Niche (Mihrab) or Djoinamaz - Image 1
Suzani with Prayer Niche (Mihrab) or Djoinamaz - Image 2

Suzani with Prayer Niche (Mihrab) or Djoinamaz

1867-1899

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Suzani with Prayer Niche (Mihrab) or Djoinamaz

1867-1899

Physical Qualities Cotton ground, silk embroidery threads, cotton backing, 56-1/2 x 45-1/2 in. (143.6 x 115.6 cm.)
Credit Line Gift of Jerry Maizlish, Sparks, Maryland
Object Number 1991.449
A small rectangular hanging (suzani or djoinamaz) of red plain-weave cotton with multicolored silk embroidered designs including a central architectural motif in the form of a pointed archway or prayer niche or 'mihrab.' The 43'H x 22'W mihrab is situated within a field 49'H x 37'W and is framed by borders of varying widths, each featuring repeating floral and stem motifs. Lozenge- shaped floral sprays or medallions 16' x 10' are found in the upper corners. Motifs are worked in green, blue, yellow, purple, black, and white silk threads using chain, laid and couched (Bokhara, Roumanian, basma, kanda-- khayol?) and buttonhole stitches. The edges of the panel are finished with a 3/8' trim composed of heavy chain stitches. The reverse is lined with a plain-woven printed cotton with aqua hearts and buta shapes on a red ground. The sides of the reverse are finished with a 2' wide plain-woven printed cotton featuring small stylized flowers on an olive ground. The lining is stitched to the foundation with running stitches along fourteen vertical rows. The band with chain stitching which finishes the edges on the front is attached to the reverse with dense 3/8' long stitches. Twisted tan threads intended as hanging loops are found at the top corners of the hanging.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1991, ex. coll. Gerald Maizlish via purchase from a dealer in Afghanistan.
Imagining Home
Bacon, Elizabeth E. Central Asians Under Russian Rule. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1980 reprint of a 1966 edition, p. 15, pp. 17-19, map facing p. 18.

Paine, Shiela. Embroidered Textiles: Traditional Patterns from Five Continents. New York: Rizzoli, 1990, p. 26, pp. 108-109.

Levinsteyn, Y. 'Unravelling Central Asian Embroidery,' Hali Magazine. Vol. 4, No. 2, 1981, pp. 152-153.

Knorr, Thomas Knorr and Lindahl, David. Uzbek: The Textiles & Life of the Nomadic and Sedentary Uzbek Tribes of Central Asia. Basel, Switzerland: Zhinden Druck und Verlag AG, 1975.

Cootner, Cathryn M. 'Gardens of Paradise,' and Shaffer, Daniel. 'History & Technique,' in 'Suzani,' Hali Magazine (April/May/June 1986), pp. 44-51.

Tent & Town: Rugs & Embroideries from Central Asia: The H. McCoy Jones Collection. San Francisco: The Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, M.H. DeYoung Memorial Museum, Nov. 1982 - Feb. 1983.

Franses, Michael and Pinner, Robert Pinner. 'Large Medallion Suzani from South-West Uzbekistan,' Hali Magazine. Vol. 1, No. 2 (Summer 1978), pp. 128-133.

Inscribed: Written by hand in ink on a piece of masking tape approx. 3/4' wide x 3' attached to object:'#028' (Tape was removed to prevent staining of object); Written in ink on the lining fabric on upper right corner of reverse: 'XXV' with crooked line above it.

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