Woman's Jelak. South Uzbekistan, second quarter 20th century. Silk hand-embroidery on handwoven cotton with narrow stripes. Unlined. Silk woven and embroidered trim applied along edge; silk fringe; three pearl buttons. 35" length x 30" width (closed). Good condition (some light staining visible in photos). Jelaks were worn as a headdress and were never meant to conceal. The hems were deliberately left unfinished to insure that the woman would continue to bear children. To see more textiles from my Central Asian collection, please go to www.susanmeller.com