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Antiquities of Samarkand. Tomb of the Saint Kusam-ibn-Abbas (Shah-i Zindah) and Adjacent Mausoleums. Mausoleum of Sha Arap. Sections of Detail on the Facade

1865
This sketch of facade decoration from an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (Samarkand, Uzbekistan) 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. 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 significant damage, the facade has preserved polychrome ceramic ornamentation with floral, geometric, and inscriptional patterns. This watercolor is a simplified rendition of terra-cotta work on the inner wall of the facade arch, or peshtak. As in much of Islamic art, the design is a complex interplay of geometric figures and polygonal forms created by intersecting lines. The original decoration also contains tendril motifs.

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Filename
3925.jpg
Copyright
acku Afghanistan
Image Size
1800x2257 / 154.5KB
Contained in galleries
UZBEKISTAN
1865<br />
This sketch of facade decoration from an unidentified mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (Samarkand, Uzbekistan) 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. 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 significant damage, the facade has preserved polychrome ceramic ornamentation with floral, geometric, and inscriptional patterns. This watercolor is a simplified rendition of terra-cotta work on the inner wall of the facade arch, or peshtak. As in much of Islamic art, the design is a complex interplay of geometric figures and polygonal forms created by intersecting lines. The original decoration also contains tendril motifs.