This photograph of ceramic work on the entrance arch to the courtyard of the Gur-Emir mausoleum 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, including Gur-Emir (Persian for “tomb of the ruler”). Although known primarily as the burial place of Timur (Tamerlane), Gur-Emir was begun by Timur in 1403 to commemorate the death of his beloved grandson Muhammad Sultan at the age of 27. When Timur was buried there in 1405, Gur-Emir became the mausoleum of the Timurids. Shown here is the upper part of the facade within the <em>iwan</em> (vaulted hall, walled on three sides, with one end open) niche of the entrance structure. The horizontal band at the bottom is composed of a row of vertical faience panels containing radiant polychrome floral motifs. The panels are capped with pointed arches leading to an intricate pattern of ceramic tiles set within a geometric lattice. The right corner shows remnants of a vault structure known as <em>mocárabe</em>--also referred to as a “stalactite” vault because of the appearance of the suspended decorative elements. The upper corner shows the underlying brick wall.
<br>Architectural decorations and ornaments; Islamic architecture; Photographic surveys; Sepulchral monuments; Timur, 1336-1405; Tombs
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/3727/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3727/</a></li></ul>