This photograph of the facade of an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (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 architecture, such as 14th- and 15th-century monuments from the reign of Timur (Tamerlane) and his successors. Of particular note is Shah-i Zindah (Persian for “living king”), built on the elevated site of an ancient settlement known as Afrosiab and revered as a memorial to Kusam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Although the patron of this mausoleum has not been conclusively identified, its date of construction is known to be 1360-61. Despite significant damage, the mausoleum facade is distinguished by a vibrant array of polychrome ceramic ornamentation. The facade arch, or <em>peshtak</em>, is flanked by glazed terracotta columns carved in elaborate geometric patterns. This fragment on the left side of the arch shows the upper part of the column shaft and its capital. To the left of the column is an inscription band composed of raised Kufic letters with an intertwining tendril motif.
<br>Archaeological sites; Architectural decorations and ornaments; Islamic architecture; Photographic surveys; Sepulchral monuments; Shāh-i Zindah; Tombs
Bogaevskii, Nikolai V., 1843-1912
between 1865 and 1872 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1850-00-00T00:00:00Z/7,P1319,+1865-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,+1872-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
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<ul><li>Gallery: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3672/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3672/</a></li></ul>