Suzani

This publication is the first comprehensive survey of the most beautiful and significant examples of Central Asian suzani textiles, gathered from public and private collections worldwide. The aesthetic merit and cultural significance of these textiles are widely appreciated by specialists and non-specialists alike, making suzani amongst the most popular, collectable textiles. No comprehensive publication has yet been published because suzanis are not well-represented in museum collections; many of the top examples are in unpublished private collections; and suzani were customarily preserved as family heirlooms, often stored in dowry chests and therefore not readily available in the secondary markets of 19th-century Central Asia. The publication will feature 220 of the most important suzanis known, along with art historical and scholarly essays, drawn from an extensive, previously unpublished, private image database assembled starting in the 1970s. Most of the included suzani textiles have been examined first-hand.