The elegant beauty of Uzbek embroidery, of ancient origin with many elements of patterns and diversity of techniques, indicates the duration of the previous historical development of the craft and the richness of its traditions. Embroidery was spread mainly in the trade and craft towns and larger villages, ancient centers of settled agricultural culture of Uzbekistan, except in Khorezm.
Large decorative embroidery of urban settled peoples of Uzbekistan, depending on its function, is divided into several types. These are wall panels (suzani, nimsuzani, oy-palyak); bedspreads or pillow covers (ruyidzho, dzhoypush, gulkurpa, choyshab); tablecloths (sandalipush); wall friezes (zardevor or kirpech); prayer rugs (dzhoynamoz) and others.
Among the small embroidered products are: bags for mirrors and combs (oyna-khalta, shona-khalta); skullcaps (duppi); towels and belts (belbog or qoziklungi) and embroidered edgings to decorate clothing items (dzhiyaks) and other.
The content of the ornament and embroidery composition solutions depended upon the utilitarian use of one or another kind. Large embroidery had a central field and rim.
The main motifs of embroidery are signs of astronomical origin (the sun, the moon, the stars in the form of large and small rosettes), floral, geometric patterns and stylized images of animals and birds.
The leading centers of the art of embroidery are Nurata, Bukhara, Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Tashkent, Andijan, Ferghana, Jizzakh, Baysu and Karshi, where skilled embroidery by craftswomen developed in the nineteenth century.
A new specific pattern is formed in modern Uzbek embroidery. Thus, the embroidery products of craftspersons (Tashkent, Namangan), recreating the technology and decor of classic embroidery patterns of Nurata, Bukhara, Samarkand are aimed at a broad market demand.
In the Surkhandarya and Kashkadarya regions, traditions of hand embroidery from the mid twentieth-century are preserved to the present day and they are mainly intended for home use and for bridal dowries.
