Wall Painting in a Niche in Bogoeddin. Bukhara
1905
This photograph was taken at the complex containing the tomb of Sheikh Bakhauddin Nakshbandi (1318–89), a venerated sage of the Sufi Nakshbandi order. In 1544 Bakhauddin’s burial site at Baha al-Din, near Bukhara (in present-day Uzbekistan), was enshrined in a large khanaka (memorial structure). Shown here is an arched segment in the exterior wall of the khanaka. The pointed arch in the lower part culminates in a miniature vault in the mocárabe, or “stalactite,” form. This inner niche is contained within a larger arch, whose stalactite vault is surfaced with glazed tiles displaying floral motifs. The arches are flanked by carved columns. On either side are tiles with cursive Perso-Arabic inscriptions. 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. Prokudin-Gorskii was interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan, which he visited on a number of occasions, including trips in 1907 and 1911 to the ancient city of Bukhara.
- Filename
- 5868.jpg
- Copyright
- acku Afghanistan
- Image Size
- 1800x1631 / 646.9KB
- Contained in galleries
- UZBEKISTAN