Cushion cover

Cushion covers of this type of needlework (suzeni) might have served both for daily use in a wealthy provincial metropolitan home, as well as for special functions. Archival documents indicate numerous customs within the sectarian communities of the Ottoman Empire for which elaborate displays of household coverings were appropriate. In all communities, of course, weddings and the birth of a child were a major occasions for celebratory display. New mothers in their confinement with their baby received visits from female relatives. The birthing chamber, or the bed and alcove, was especially decorated to receive and entertain these visitors. Mourning was also a ritual, which each community observed in its own manner.