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CHIST-E SHARIF,
LOCATION: In Herat Province. 17
km to the Est of Obeh, in the valley of Tagau Chisht. In the
road from Herat to Chakhcharan
DATE: Ghorid, 12th century (Architecture)
DESCRIPTION: Two buildings stand in the middle of an extensive
graveyard. … experts argue as to the purpose of these
buildings. Some speak of them as mausoleum. Others see them
as parts of a grand complex of buildings, a madrassa (religious
school), perhaps, with its mosque. The mutilated molded terracotta
brick decoration can only speak softly of their former magnificence.
The dome to the east bears a Kufic inscription in which the
shafts of the script are purposefully bent in order to create
a regular series of squares along the top which are filled
with floral arabesques. The inscription is bordered by a plain,
yet nevertheless complicated, meandering braid. Inside, the
south arch is decorated with a band of interlacing polygons;
the north arch with a stylized floral band.
The western building has a more ornate and monumental façade
consisting of a triple band of geometrics beside the doorway;
next to it there is a columned and arched recess composed
of two square panels filled with interlaced polygons banded
by a simple braid, and a rectangular panel containing a cursive
inscription with flowers scattered on the background. This
decorative style has led some scholars to conjecture that
this building may be earlier than the one to the east. Inside,
there is a stucco Kufic inscription running across the tops
of the pointed arches in the iwans. Here the “brambly”
style found in one panel in the mosque at Herat has been used.”
CONDITION:
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CHIST-E SHARIF
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