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Antiquities of Samarkand. Tomb of the Saint Kusam-ibn-Abbas (Shah-i Zindah) and Adjacent Mausoleums. Mausoleum of Sha Arap. Section of Inscription above a Window

1865
This watercolor sketch shows an ornamental detail from the northeast mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). The sketch was included in the archeological part of Turkestan Album, a six-volume survey 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. The patron of this mausoleum has not been conclusively identified, but it was constructed in 1360-61, most likely for a maiden of noble birth. The collapse of the mausoleum dome enables a clear view of the interior walls covered with lavish ceramic ornamentation in geometric, floral, and inscriptional patterns. This simplified sketch shows part of a decorative surround for a window arch. Alternating polychrome tiles frame a curved inscription band composed of block Kufic letters with interwoven strapwork and a foliate, or leaf, pattern.

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3914.jpg
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acku Afghanistan
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UZBEKISTAN
1865<br /> This watercolor sketch shows an ornamental detail from the northeast mausoleum in the northern cluster of shrines at the Shah-i Zindah necropolis (Samarkand, Uzbekistan). The sketch was included in the archeological part of Turkestan Album, a six-volume survey 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. The patron of this mausoleum has not been conclusively identified, but it was constructed in 1360-61, most likely for a maiden of noble birth. The collapse of the mausoleum dome enables a clear view of the interior walls covered with lavish ceramic ornamentation in geometric, floral, and inscriptional patterns. This simplified sketch shows part of a decorative surround for a window arch. Alternating polychrome tiles frame a curved inscription band composed of block Kufic letters with interwoven strapwork and a foliate, or leaf, pattern.