This photograph of a facade detail from an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines 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, in 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 Tamerlane and his successors. Of particular note is Shah-i Zindah (Persian for “living king”), revered as a memorial to Kusam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. The patron of this mausoleum has not been identified by specialists, but its date of construction is 1361. In addition to ceramic mosaics, the mausoleum is distinguished by glazed carved terracotta panels that display intricate floral, geometric, and inscriptional patterns. The colors range from deep blue to yellow, violet, and turquoise. Shown here is a damaged fragment of a column at the corner of the niche created by the main facade arch (<em>peshtak</em>). The curving tendrils link floral motifs, including the lotus blossom. These sinuous designs were framed by geometric figures, some of which have been preserved.
<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/3633/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3633/</a></li></ul>