This sketch of a decorative fragment on the facade of an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (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. Of particular note is Shah-i Zindah (Persian for “living king”), built on the elevated site of an ancient settlement known as Afrosiab and revered as a memorial to Kusam-ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. Although the patron of this mausoleum has not been conclusively identified, its date of construction is known to be 1360-61. Despite major damage, much of the mausoleum’s profuse ceramic ornamentation survived. The main colors of the facade are turquoise and dark blue with white trim. This view shows a segment of a carved, glazed terra-cotta band on the left side of the facade. The pattern is composed of intersecting straps that form eight-pointed stars, within which are intricate foliate and tendril motifs with a flower (or star) in the center.
<br>Architectural decorations and ornaments; Islamic architecture; Sepulchral monuments; Shāh-i Zindah; Tombs; Watercolors
Shostak, L. A.
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/3924/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3924/</a></li></ul>