Читать книгу Central Asian Art - Vladimir Lukonin - Страница 7

Mausoleums and mosques are present in all Muslim towns. The great mosques are particularly sumptuous. They are distinguished by their important dimensions, their portals, their large courtyards surrounded by a gallery having a portico with columns, the iwan, at its central point. The minaret stands near the outer angle.

The architectural decoration of the monuments of the 11^th and 12^th centuries is of an astonishing variety. Different forms of bricks, sculptures on wood, stucco, baked clay are used as ornament. Carved in deep relief on two or three faces, the baked clay is a newly acquired technique of the builders of Central Asia in the architectural field.

Muhammad Rahim Khan Madrasah, 19^th century. Khiva, Uzbekistan.

Some remarkable examples are to be seen in the sculpture of the mausoleums of Uzgen, Kunya-Urgench, and Saëd.

The ornament results from the bricks’ disposition, sculptured bricks, and potter’s clay are mingled in their aspect and colouring with construction materials so that only their decorative design appears.

Among the polychromy that would triumph in the following centuries, appeared bricks and tiles enamelled in blue for the surfaces of the domes or appliqued ornaments inserted into the ornamental design of the walls. Geometrical motifs dominated.

The diversity and complexity are such that it is difficult to decipher structure.

Portal, The Ark, fortress. Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

Islam Khoja Minaret, Khiva, Uzbekistan.

Islam Khoja Minaret overlooking a street in the old city, Itchan Kala. Khiva, Uzbekistan.