Syr-Darya Oblast. City of Turkestan. Mosque of Saint Sultan Akhmed Iassavi. Candlestick Donated by Emir Timur Kuragan

1865
This photograph of a detail from the interior of the mausoleum of Khodzha Akhmed Iassavi in Yasi (present-day Turkestan, Kazakhstan) is from the archeological part of Turkestan Album. 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. Yasi is associated with the Sufi mystic, Khodzha Akhmed Iassavi (1103-66), whose great reputation led Timur (Tamerlane) to construct a memorial shrine (khanaka) at his grave site. Built in 1396-98, the mausoleum displays features of Timurid architecture, then at its height in Samarkand. This view shows one of a number of large bronze candle holders used for ritual purposes and reputed to have been donated by Tamerlane. Although less massive than a pair of holders displayed near the bronze ritual basin, this holder—somewhat damaged—is of greater height, about a meter. From a complex circular base the stem rises in segments engraved with botanical arabesques and marked by bulbous flares. The object culminates with a floral—perhaps lotus—design. The photographer has placed it on a wooden stool for a proper camera angle.

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Filename: 3878.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x2412 / 167.0KB; 1865 Kazakhstan Yuzhno Turkestan Syr-Darya Mosques Akhmed Iassavi Candlestick Emir Timur Kuragan Sepulchral Monuments Religious Articles Photo WDL 010336
Contained in galleries: KAZAKHSTAN

1865<br />
This photograph of a detail from the interior of the mausoleum of Khodzha Akhmed Iassavi in Yasi (present-day Turkestan, Kazakhstan) is from the archeological part of Turkestan Album. 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. Yasi is associated with the Sufi mystic, Khodzha Akhmed Iassavi (1103-66), whose great reputation led Timur (Tamerlane) to construct a memorial shrine (khanaka) at his grave site. Built in 1396-98, the mausoleum displays features of Timurid architecture, then at its height in Samarkand. This view shows one of a number of large bronze candle holders used for ritual purposes and reputed to have been donated by Tamerlane. Although less massive than a pair of holders displayed near the bronze ritual basin, this holder—somewhat damaged—is of greater height, about a meter. From a complex circular base the stem rises in segments engraved with botanical arabesques and marked by bulbous flares. The object culminates with a floral—perhaps lotus—design. The photographer has placed it on a wooden stool for a proper camera angle.