Sart Types. Samarkand
1905
Seen here are three generations of males identified in the photographer’s caption as “types of Sart.” The term “Sart” has various meanings and was used in the 19th century to refer to town dwellers, as well as to people who inhabited this area before the coming of Uzbek tribes in the 16th century. The grandfather, in the back, has a shaved skull and long beard. He is wearing a fine quilted coat lined on the interior with colorful fabric. On the left is the father of the two boys, dressed in a light robe with sash. The boys are wearing colorful jackets. All of them have skull caps. In the background is an eroded wall of mud over adobe brick. 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. He was interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including two trips in 1911. Turkestan appealed to him not only for its Islamic architecture but also for scenes of local life in places such as Samarkand.
- Filename
- 5800.jpg
- Copyright
- acku Afghanistan
- Image Size
- 1800x1673 / 819.9KB
- Contained in galleries
- UZBEKISTAN