Above Entrance to Gauk Man Medrese. Bukhara

1905
The Gaukushon complex in Buhkara (present-day Uzbekistan) consists of a religious school (madrasah), a mosque, and a minaret. Shown here is the upper part of the iwan (main entrance arch) of the two-story Gaukushon, or Hodja, Mosque. The structure was built in 1598, the final year of the reign of Abdulla-khan II (1534–98), the last effective ruler of the Sheibanid dynasty. (The Gaukushon madrasah had been built in 1570.) Although severely damaged over time, the mosque facade shows remnants of the once-brilliant surface of ceramic tiles in elaborate geometric and floral patterns with intertwining tendrils. The horizontal panel at the top contains ceramic fragments of a Perso-Arabic inscription in the Thuluth cursive style. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. In 1911 his travels took him to an area of Central Asia then known as Turkestan, where he photographed the ancient monuments of Bukhara.

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Filename: 5873.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1638 / 680.4KB; 1905 Uzbekistan Buxoro Viloyati Bukhara Gauk Man Madrasah Arches Mosaics Photo WDL 010529
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1905<br />
The Gaukushon complex in Buhkara (present-day Uzbekistan) consists of a religious school (madrasah), a mosque, and a minaret. Shown here is the upper part of the iwan (main entrance arch) of the two-story Gaukushon, or Hodja, Mosque. The structure was built in 1598, the final year of the reign of Abdulla-khan II (1534–98), the last effective ruler of the Sheibanid dynasty. (The Gaukushon madrasah had been built in 1570.) Although severely damaged over time, the mosque facade shows remnants of the once-brilliant surface of ceramic tiles in elaborate geometric and floral patterns with intertwining tendrils. The horizontal panel at the top contains ceramic fragments of a Perso-Arabic inscription in the Thuluth cursive style. The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. In 1911 his travels took him to an area of Central Asia then known as Turkestan, where he photographed the ancient monuments of Bukhara.