Photos

The Summer Palace in Bukhara is now a museum displaying many items of local history. This bedsheet is done in Suzani style ("suzan" means "needle" in Tajik) from the late XIX century. It is, specifically, a bedsheet to be used on the bride's wedding night to provide proof of her virginity. Notice that the whole sheet is embroidered except for the center area, to allow for the hymenal blood to be more easily seen. The sheet would then be displayed to the waiting witnesses in the morning.

Although the sheet was cleaned before it was put in the museum (hopefully, long before!), you can still see a bit of dark area in the center.