Large Suzani
These are the full dowry cloths: 17 pieces over two square metres, from 120 × 195 cm up to 294 × 216 cm, made to cover a bridal bed and now the piece that sets a whole room. Bukhara and Samarkand work, vintage and new, silk on cotton, $124 to $550; the size, the school where we know it, and whether the piece is vintage or newly embroidered are on every listing. One large piece here is machine-embroidered and says so.
Orders leave Bukhara within 24 hours by tracked airmail: USA 9–18 working days, Europe 8–16, elsewhere 10–20. The parent page explains the schools, the stitches and how to read a suzani.
The dowry size
The classic suzani is about 240 × 150 cm — the V&A's 1874 Bukhara piece is 250 × 170 — because it was made to cover the bed on the wedding night and to hang on the wall of the couple's room afterwards. Most of this section sits around that size; the largest, at 294 × 216 cm, would have been a ruijo, the bedspread proper, worked on six strips of cotton by several women over a winter. On a modern bed a 200 × 160 cm piece covers a double as a summer spread; 220–240 cm covers a king with a drop at the sides.
On a wall
Above a sofa or a bed, a large suzani wants a batten, not hooks: sew a 10 cm sleeve of plain cotton along the back of the top edge, slide in a wooden batten and hang the batten from two screws. The weight of two or three square metres of silk-embroidered cotton is real, and this spreads it. Keep it out of direct sun — Soviet-era aniline reds fade fastest — and vacuum it through a net twice a year. Care in full on the parent page; the What's a Suzani page has more on how they were used.
Vintage or new
Five of these are vintage Soviet-era pieces, with the wear that comes with fifty years in a house and which the photographs show; the rest are new Bukhara and Samarkand work. None are antiques — Uzbekistan does not permit export of textiles over fifty years old. Tell us the bed or the wall and we will say which piece fits.
Frequently asked questions
How big is a large suzani?
Alesouk's large suzanis are over two square metres: from 120 × 195 cm to 294 × 216 cm, with the exact size on every listing. The traditional dowry format is about 240 × 150 cm.
Can a suzani be used as a bedspread?
Yes; that is what the large ones were made for. A 200 × 160 cm piece covers a double bed as a summer spread and 220–240 cm covers a king with a drop. Use it over a sheet, not directly against skin, and never machine wash.
How much does a large suzani cost?
At Alesouk, $124 to $550, depending on size, age and density of embroidery. The largest hand-embroidered pieces, around 2.3 × 1.7 m and above, are $400–550.
How do I hang a large suzani?
Sew a cotton sleeve along the top edge on the back, pass a wooden batten through it and hang the batten from two screws; never nail or staple through the embroidery.
Are Alesouk's large suzanis hand-embroidered?
Sixteen of the seventeen are hand-embroidered in silk on cotton; one is machine-embroidered and labelled as such. Five are vintage Soviet-era pieces, the rest newly made in Bukhara and Samarkand.
Do you ship large suzanis to the USA and UK?
Yes, worldwide by tracked airmail from Bukhara, Uzbekistan, within 24 hours: USA 9–18 working days, Europe and the UK 8–16, elsewhere 10–20. Duties, where charged, are the buyer's.