This photograph of an arch niche at the Gur-Emir mausoleum in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) is from the archeological part of <em>Turkestan Album</em>. The six-volume photographic survey was produced in 1871-72 under the patronage of General Konstantin P. von Kaufman, the first governor-general (1867-82) of Turkestan, as the Russian Empire’s Central Asian territories were called. The album devotes special attention to Samarkand’s Islamic architectural heritage, including Gur-Emir (Persian for “tomb of the ruler”). Although known primarily as the burial place of Timur (Tamerlane), Gur-Emir was begun by Timur in 1403 to commemorate the death of his beloved grandson Muhammad Sultan at the age of 27. When Timur was buried there in 1405, Gur-Emir became the mausoleum of the Timurids. Shown here is the upper part of a portal arch (<em>peshtak</em>) niche, apparently on left side of the north facade. Fragments of ceramic ornamentation are dimly visible on either side of the portal, above which is a ceramic band containing a sacred text in elongated cursive Arabo-Persian script bordered with decorative figures. Above the inscription is a faience pattern of intersecting geometric forms including pentagons, triangles, and six-pointed stars. This interconnected complexity can be interpreted as a reflection of cosmic order. The brick vaulting of the arch was originally surfaced with ceramic work.
<br>Doors and doorways; Islamic architecture; Photographic surveys; Sepulchral monuments; Timur, 1336-1405; Tombs
Bogaevskii, Nikolai V., 1843-1912
between 1868 and 1872 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1850-00-00T00:00:00Z/7,P1319,+1868-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,+1872-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
<p><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://dl.wdl.org/3720.png">http://dl.wdl.org/3720.png</a>
</p>
<ul><li>Gallery: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3720/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3720/</a></li></ul>