Suzani

Suzani comes from the Persian word for "needle": large flowers, moon and sun medallions and pomegranate and vine branches are embroidered in silk thread on cotton or silk cloth.

Traditionally a girl began sewing suzanis with her mother and grandmother as a child to prepare her dowry; they were hung on walls, laid over bedding and used to decorate cradles.

The suzanis of Bukhara, Samarkand, Nurata and Shahrisabz differ in pattern and colour, and in the 15th century the Castilian envoy Clavijo described such embroideries at Timur's court.