Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii.
A Portion of the Shir-Dar Minaret and its Dome from Tillia-Kari, 1911.
Digital color rendering.

The tiled columns, walls, and domes of the Shir-Dar (“Lions’ House”) madrasa in Samarkand show the elaborate abstract designs and use of calligraphy typical in much of Islamic and Central Asian architecture. This madrasa, constructed 1619-1636 and in essence a Muslim theological academy and school, is part of the complex of mosques and madrasas found in Registan, the most sacred precinct of old Samarkand.

The Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division
(LC-DIG-ppmsc-04440) (50)