“Designed by Miran”: a world of hand embroidered suzani
UzbekAlive is partnering with Bukhara based brand "Designed by Miran" to bring to our platform hand-embroidered suzani. All suzani products are listed in a new category of products called “Designed by Miran”.
New milestone
With Miran UzbekAlive is reaching a new milestone in terms of offering Central Asian textiles to the global audience. In addition to ikats which we have been offering since 2002, we now offer another artisanal gem of Uzbekistan textile heritage.- suzani.
Suzani exhibition in a harem
this post is about suzani, not so much about harem but I would like to start with some historic information to give you a context.
Summer residence of Emir of Bukhara: Sitorai Mohi-Hosa
The last Emir of Bukhara had his summer residence in the outskirts of Bukhara. The palace was built in the early 20th century. The style of the palace is a representation of the Emir himself - the man who stood between Eastern and Western traditions and curiously absorbed both. Russian influenced architecture of the palace was mixed with French furniture, Polish chandeliers, Chinese porcelain and Dutch heaters covered with German tiles. Colorful glass and plaster wall decorations In geometrical patterns indicate that the place belonged to a Muslim sovereign.
Suzani embroidery: history and present days
I’m reading an amazing book “Silk and cotton: Textiles from the Central Asia that was“ by Susan Meller. My main interest in this book was ikat fabric patterns and antique Ikat ropes. However, the book covers so many areas of Central Asian textiles! There is a whole chapter in the book about Central Asian suzani embroidery.
UzbekAlive's main focus is on ikats but I still wanted to write a short blog post about suzanis to give you some history behind these beautiful embroidered textiles. History creates a background behind a specific product. This way when you buy a little something with a history you end up acquiring knowledge and a piece of cultural heritage.
Suzani and bath robes of El Cosmico hotel
We often feel deep gratitude for living in the age of internet. Assuming we are not loading our brains with unnecessary content having information at our fingertips is priceless. Oftentimes inspiration we get comes through a simple google search. For