This photograph of the Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasah 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. Located next to the Khodzha Akhrar shrine, this <em>madrasah </em>(religious school) was completed in 1631 by Nadir Divan-Begi, vizier and uncle of the Bukharan ruler Imam-Quli Khan. The madrasah was planned as a rectangular courtyard enclosed by a one-story cloister for scholars and a mosque at one end. This view shows the middle part of the left flank of the niche formed by the main <em>iwan</em> (vaulted hall, walled on three sides, with one end open) arch that faces the street. The wall surface is composed of ceramic tiles whose intricate geometric pattern includes block Kufic letters that form words from the Kalima, the basis of the Shahada, or Islamic declaration of faith. The basic colors of the tiles are dark and light blue, with details in white, yellow, and orange. The back wall of the niche, dimly visible on the right, continues the ornamental pattern seen on the flank. On the far left is the outer surface of the iwan facade, which is decorated with faience panels.
<br>Architectural decorations and ornaments; Inscriptions; Islamic architecture; Madrasahs; Photographic surveys
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>
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<ul><li>Gallery: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3776/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3776/</a></li></ul>