Suzani Oh Suzani
I have been doing a little research on Suzani textiles and have enjoyed the many modern applications out there of a traditional tribal textile technique made in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.
This wedding Suzani panel and many other Suzani textiles are available through 30 Meeting in Charleston, SC.
Per Wikipedia, Suzani is from the Persian سوزن Suzan which means needle. The art of making such textiles in Iran is called سوزنکاری Suzankāri (needlework). Popular design motifs include sun and moon disks, flowers (especially tulips, carnations, and irises), leaves and vines, fruits (especially pomegranates), and occasional fish and birds. The oldest surviving suzanis are from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but it seems likely that they were in use long before that.
Suzanis were traditionally made by Central Asian brides as part of their dowry, and were presented to the groom on the wedding day. [3]
Here are some wonderful modern applications by Material Recovery available on Etsy:
And some lovely pillows also found on Etsy made by YASTK from vintage textiles:
I can’t help but throw a couple fabulous pillows into the mix from Studio Tullia:
Here’s a beautiful room by Mary McDonald found in her book, The Allure of Style.
A few more wonderful rooms found on Pinterest:
And lastly, these wonderful boots by designer Zeynep Yurderi:
As she explains on her website: The Zeyzani name is derived from my first name [Zeynep] and the fabric name suzani, hand-stitched silk by artisans in Uzbekistan, with vibrantly colored motifs of tulips, paisleys, pomegranates, grapevines and other designs from ancient Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
I can’t help noticing with my own love for the needle and textiles that my name Suzanne was well chosen. Thanks, Mom.
Designer
