UZBEKISTAN, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Historically a nomadic group, from the 1870s the Lakai began to settle in towns in South-Eastern Uzbekistan, where they encountered the fine embroidery being practiced in cities like Shakhryisabz (Jeff Spur, "Style Matters: the case for Lakai suzanis", HALI 215, 2023, p.68). Their weaves remained distinctive, however. Bold motifs were executed using particularly fine embroidery, and often onto coloured grounds. A further distinctive feature is the use of narrow chevron bands around borders and edges, which can be seen in red and white on our example. A result of the greater finesse of embroidery is that many Lakai suzanis are smaller nim-suzanis, or 'half suzanis'.

The fine drawing on this example is evocative of a white-ground example sold Rippon Boswell, Weisbaden, 1 June 2024, lot 69. They also sold a yellow-ground example also with red and white chevron bands, 23 March 2019, lot 71.