This photograph of the facade of the Toglu Tekin (Emir Hussein) Mausoleum at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis in Samarkand 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. Shah-i Zindah (Persian for “living king”) is revered as a memorial to Kusam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. In 1386 a mausoleum was built for Toglu Tekin, daughter of Emir Khodzha and mother of Emir Hussein--one of Timur’s grandees. This view shows the left side of the main facade. The rich display of polychrome ornament includes (from right): a glazed, carved terracotta column at the corner of the entrance arch, or <em>peshtak</em>; vertical strips of majolica tiles in geometric and floral patterns; an inscription in cursive Thuluth script set within intricate floral strapwork; and a strip of tiles with a rosette motif. The outer corner of the structure is marked by a large glazed column with an ascending rhomboid pattern. The basic colors are dark blue and turquoise, with white detailing.
<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/3636/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3636/</a></li></ul>