This photograph of the interior of the mosque at the Tillia Kari 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 architecture, such as 14th- and 15th-century monuments from the reign of Timur (Tamerlane) and his successors. In the center of Samarkand is the Registan ensemble, composed of three major examples of a <em>madrasah</em> (religious school). The third Registan component, the Tillia Kari Madrasah, was built in 1646-60 on the site of a former caravanserai. This view, partially underexposed because of limited interior light, shows the lower corner adjacent to the steps to the <em>minbar</em>, or pulpit (to the right; not visible in this photograph). The rich ornamentation shown here includes ceramic work and carved marble. The attached column rests on a marble base and displays a bold pattern of intersecting lines. The dimly visible ceramic panels show intricate geometric and botanical patterns. The projecting rows of the marble cornice at the top of the photograph have a “stalactite” form of dentilation, as does a fragment of the plinth at the lower right.
<br>Architectural decorations and ornaments; 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/3850/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3850/</a></li></ul>