worked in polychrome silks on linen, the main field with slightly ogival trellis of serrated leaves, enclosing flowerheads of narcissi, iris, carnations and roses, the border with larger flowerheads, and double scroll of serrated leaves; now mounted on a stretcher and framed

Colours not as yellow, more defined and more attractive in reality, and the pink flowerheads and central trellis of reserve and crisper drawing with stitching more visible and more attractive than in the printed catalogue. Mounted and framed, brown paper to reverse, presently sagging a little in the lower-edge, therefore recommend re-mounting as a little loose, not glazed. Evenly faded colours overall, with main palmettes being shades of rose and musk-pink and the saz-leaves being a turquoise blue tone. The panel is comprised of three joined vertical strips with the embroidery against a now pale caramel linen ground which has some small holes and stains in areas, for example: centre-top-right quadrant, visible as dark shadows, and small holes, for example, within fourth rosette on left-hand side, and around the fourth and fifth rosette from bottom on right-hand side. Extremely pretty colouring and balanced composition, as viewed.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Susani, produced generally for weddings and dowries, were used as wall hangings on festive occasions and as covers in the domestic space. Smaller (nim) susani, which were approximately half the size of the larger panels, followed the same design concepts, and it is the measurements which distinguish them from other susani embroideries.

For a comparable design used in a Bokhara susani panel, circa 1800, which although more finely worked and earlier, with narrow and inner borders, which are lacking on the present panel, and shows interesting similarities, see Friedrich Spuhler, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: Carpets and Textiles, Uzbek embroideries – Susanis, pp.268-9. It has a border similarly filled between the large motifs which smaller petalled flowers between the crossovers of the sinuous stems, and a trellis of fork-leaf vines in the main field with lozenges, not ogival in concept (both of which are present in the design of the present panel), and the rosettes and smaller flowering shrubs are reminiscent of this cited example, in the use of different scales.