Architectural

Ceramics of

Uzbekistan.

attife

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N.S.GRAZHDANKINA.

M. K. RAKHIMOV.

ARCHITECTURAL OF

I.E.PLETNEV

CERAMICS

UZBEKISTAN.

TASHKENT 2006

Published in 2006 with the financial and technical assistance of the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization within the framework of the UNESCO/Japan Funds-in-Trust project "The Blue of Samarkand: Inventory and Revival of the Traditional Ceramics of Uzbekistan".

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not neces¬

sarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the organization. Nor do they the expression of any opinions as the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country.territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimita¬ tion

of its frontier or boundaries.

First published in Russian Language in 1968 by the publishing house USSR, Tashkent.

Director of Publication: Michael Barry Lane. Project Cordinator: Sanjar Allayarov. Project Assistant: Muhayyo Makhmudova. Editor of the English edition: Alisher Rakhimov. English Translation: Eric Wahlberg. Text revision: Sussanah McBain, Michael Barry Lane. Design and Photo materials: Alisher Rakhimov. Printed by: Seal-Mag, Tashkent

© UNESCO 2006

All rights reserved

"Science"

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I

Outline of the development of facing ceramics in the architecture of Uzbekistan.

by N.S.Grazhdankina

11

Early ceramic decorations.

13

Architectural ceramics IX - XIII

CHAPTER II

centuries

14

Ceramic facing XIV century

21

Ceramic facing of the late XIV- XV centuries.

28

Ceramic facing in the XVII - XXth centuries.

33

Towards a history of construction techniques of Uzbekistan, by N.S. Grazhdankina (The technology of facing ceramics production and their qualitative indicators) by N.S.Grazhdankina 39

Clay ceramics. Ceramics on Faience foundation. CHAPTER

The work of

the

49

Samarkand ceramics

workshops, by M.K. Rakhimov

55

Basic materials.

58

Components of mass for forming tiles and majolica tiles.

60

Materials for preparing glazes.

70

Methods of preparing alkali and lead glaze.

72

Structure of the kiln for firing ceramic tiles and the firing process. CHAPTER IV

74

The experience of restoring facing ceramics on architectural monuments of Uzbekistan.

by I.E. Pletnev

79

Basic stages of repair-restoration work.

82

Conservation of architectural-artistic ceramics.

88

Restoration of architectural ceramics.

93

Restoration of carved glazed ceramics fasades APPENDIX

101

Restoration ceramics masters in Samarkand

Tile masters by M.K. Rakhimov

109

Master restorers.

110

ILLUSTRATIONS

113

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

145

Introduction.

INTRODUCTION

The following articles examine the different types of medieval ceramic tiles used in architecture, and the methods of preparation used by modern

masters

based on the techniques of their predecessors. Unfortunately only a few experts remain. The work of Usto Bakiev Abdukadyr, usto Umarov Usman and usto Khodjaev Azimmurad, renowned masters proficient in ceramic firing techniques, is discussed below. Authors such as K.Ya. Peshcherev and others have written about ceramics

as a craft and the system of construction work in the medieval architecture of Central Asia, but there is a need for further architectural study.

A few words about the authors and their methods of research:

N.S.

Grazhdankina shows how architectural ceramic techniques have developed from

the earliest examples to the present day. Much can be learned from analogy as the basic methods of silicate production are uniform. But specific aspects such as local climate, raw materials, architectural forms and cultural traditions necessitate some

changes in the established types of architectural ceramics, and also highlight their

originality and variety. Grazhdankina shares her long years of research and de¬ scribes the technological thinking of masters of the past.

She uses many examples to show that the links of form, technique and composition of the various types of facing are nonetheless maintained, while not excluding elements of a creative approach. In contrast

with Chapters I and II,

Chapters III and IV by I.E. Pletnev and M.K. Rakhimov are chronicles of masters.

Their general conclusions are few and are based on their personal observa¬ tions. Rakhimov is descended from a family of ceramicists and is a national artist

and researcher in his own right. I.E. Pletnev is an architect and the instigator of many facing restoration projects in Samarkand, with close contacts with master ceramicists. Opinions vary as to methods of restoration. Pletnev classifies and

evaluates various conservation and restoration techniques with examples of architectural

ceramics.

8

Introduction.

He reveals little known details of facing techniques. Soviet specialists car¬ ried out important research into preserving traditional techniques. An example of this is the technique of carved mosaics, composed of thousands of shaped glazed

and coloured details, all fitting exactly together to form a smooth mirror-like surface with finely painted details. In the 1930s scientists believed that this was done using

metal baffled stamps. Then they realized that each piece was cut.

Exactly what

constituted the ceramic mass for carved mosaic has only recently become clear,

and experts have been able to restore all the processes of majolica preparation and

assembling for monument restoration. The production of complex ornamentation and compositions in carved mosaic was undertaken in Samarkand.

Consider architectural faience, usually associated with delicate white bowls.

With the help of chemical analysis Grazhdankina determined that the faience mass to which the glaze binds so effectively, and which has a special cleanness and depth of tone, was used not only for carved mosaic, but was also combined with ceramics on a clay foundation in majolica facing and tiles. At times, faience became the leading mass for facing material. Grazhdankina clarifies the terminology of ar¬ chitectural ceramics, correcting the conventional terminology about facing on the basis of visual valuation. She faced resistance at first. Grazhdankina's conception of 'architectural faience' is close to that of the 'modular composition of 15th century tiles' of Pletnev.

Up to now, it has been thought that the matte and glazed facing brickwork in

large geometric patterns found on the surface of monuments from the Timurid pe¬ riod, was composed using the so-called direct assembling method, by which each brick was separately affixed to the foundation with alabaster paste and separated from its neighbours ones by horizontal and vertical seams also made from paste. Pletnev discovered clear traces of modular structure during his restoration work and more importantly, the scarcely noticeable fixed brickwork, which solved the

problem of the invisible joint of large blocks.

Assembling these blocks is done today as it was then: on the ground in

special areas known as takhmin. It is likely that both direct and modular assem¬ blage of tiles occurred in the 15th century, and this needs to be determined, as well as the special qualities and 'spheres of influence' of the various facing ceramics. This requires specialists to experiment using various technical blueprints of assem¬

bling facing.This method is used to determine the composition of an ancient ce¬ ramic mass and how it was fired. There are many formulas whose authors are

Introduction.

now unknown. Studying the ceramic arts of ancient times is of great importance, especially with regard to the restoration of monuments. Problems in reviving old techniques include the lack of appropriate kilns, long-flame fuel sources and local raw materials.

M.K. Rakhimov concentrates on details such as the selection and location of

loess, how it is cleaned, made into a useable mass, and dried, and on defects in

firing, as he challenges established rules and reveals the methods of ancient ceramic art. The task remains of determining the composition of glazes and clarify¬ ing the regime of firing and cooling. Kilns do not give even temperatures on all

levels inside. This complicates the production and colouring of architectural ceram¬ ics and in our view amounts to a production fault. Earlier, they introduced a natural variety to the dry rhythmic composition of ornaments. Preparing new architectural

facing is a complex process using old techniques, local materials, empirical methods and scientific recommendations. Thus new methods are constantly infiltrating the old handicrafts, with mechanisation and other labour-saving processes.

Scientists work with Samarkand ceramics masters to adapt new techniques to old traditions. Any monument restoration must be weather-resistant. Modern

technology and chemistry can help here. The interaction between experts and sci¬ entists enriches the process of restoration. Much remains to be done. The differ¬

ences between the restoration work and the original mirror-like surfaces, the jewel¬

like delicacy of the joints, the depth and richness of the ceramic glaze colours in carved mosaic, and the wide variety of tiles are apparent even to the non-profes¬ sional eye. One should not be able to distinguish between the original and the

restored. The work of the old masters in painting majolica tiles or individually carved terracotta blocks is impossible to replicate, and before restoration the question arises:

how to strengthen the dilapidated facing and restore its missing parts beside the original, without losing the complex form of the monument. There are no absolute

answers. What works in one case does not necessarily apply in the next. Each case is unique, but the experience of restoration can contribute to resolving this problem in the future. Restoration is a scientific discipline. The decisive factor here is our

knowledge of the technology of preparing and strengthening architectural facing ceramics. I.I. Notkin

Chapter I.

1 1

CHAPTER I

Outline of the development of facing ceramics in the architecture of Uzbekistan

(from ancient times to the early 20th century) by N.S. Grazhdankina On the terminology and sources of architectural ceramics

Architectural ceramics may be categorised into two groups, according to the materials used:

1 . Clay ceramics made from loess, loess soil, clays and mixtures of loess and clay;

2. Faience made from quartz powder with clay and lime.

The form of facing ceramics varies depending on its use in decorative construction. A detail may be made from clay or faience. However it is rare to see forms intended for the same use but made from different materials, since the

plasticity, and structural and stylistic possibilities of comparable materials vary. Clay ceramics of Central Asia have the following forms: 1 . Facing bricks differing from construction burnt bricks only in polishing and facing colour.

2. Architectural terracotta which is used today. Architectural terracotta

refers

to ceramic unglazed material with porous shard. Terracotta mass, depending on the

material used, has a natural or artificial colour, mostly red-orange, sometimes light

in tone1. Smooth tiles and facing tiles with relief ornaments, cut out or stamped on the surface are included.

3. Cut glazed ceramics, in form exactly like terracotta with relief ornament, covered with coloured matte glaze.The superficial similarity of ornament and form

of the two types of ceramics means that the second was called 'poured terracotta'. This is not correct as terracotta, literally 'burnt soil', refers to unglazed facing

1. A.E.Filippov, S.V. Filippova, F.G. Brik. Architectural terracotta. Moscow, USSR Academy Architecture Publishing House, 1941, p. 5.

of

12

N.S. Grazhdankina

ceramics, which can have any covering. The term 'poured terracotta' also is incor¬

rect when referring only to facing products with cut ornament.

4. Majolica: ceramic products with porous shard, covered by a non-trans¬

parent or transparent glaze. The shard, depending on the use of clay, can be white or coloured2, i.e., it can have the drying of clay ceramics and a red-pale, orange tone. Originally, majolica referred only to coloured shard under a non-transparent

glaze. The term majolica is usually associated with tile ceramics under a variegated glaze cover and painting with ceramic colours, but majolica also includes special facing details: tiles, cornices, stalactites, cylinders for facing columns, mosaic de¬ tails and others.

Faience ceramics (architectural faience) refers only to glazed products. Here,

the type of architectural decoration dictates the material. Due to the powdered quartz 3 in faience it gives even less of a smooth finish than clay. This and the lack of plasticity explain the lack of carved ceramics in faience. The use of faience is lim¬

ited by majolica, where it takes almost the same forms as majolica using clay.

Faience details are rarely large: stalactites and cornices are usually made from faience mosaics. Coloured faience shards allow the extensive use of transpar¬

ent glazes, often with painting underneath, sometimes using matte glaze and in combination with painting over the glaze. Mosaic is a special type of architectural faience. In contrast to the usual European mosaic used today, the ornament here is

made not from single cubes differing only in colour, but from various details cut in a

special pattern, hence 'carved mosaic', which often refers to mosaic faience deco¬ ration. Ceramic mosaic refers to tile mosaic4 and majolica carved mosaic5. In

essence this is faience mosaic (in material) or carved ceramic mosaic, as in the

2 S.V. Filippova. Architectural majolica. M., State Publishing House on publication of litera¬ ture on building materials. 1956, p. 3.

3 The grain size of the loess and argillous material rarely exceeds 0.01 mm. As to the grain size of quartz powder for faience is concerned in some cases it can be 0.5 mm but usually it makes 0.3 - 0.2 mm.

4 B.P. Denike. Architectural ornament in Central Asia. M.-L., The Publishing House of the

Ail-Union Academy of Architecture, 1939, p. 134; R.R. Abdurasulev, L.I. Rempel. Unknown monuments of architecture of the Kashkadarya region, The art of architects of Uzbekistan. Uzbek SSR Academy of Science, T., 1962, pp. 32-33.

5 G. N. Tomaev. Carved majolica mosaic in the architecture of Central Asia. M., State

Publishing House on publication of literature on construction and architecture, 1951.

Chapter I.

13

East there are instances of the use of mosaics from ordinary clay ceramics. Be¬

sides mosaics, tiled majolica from faience includes strips with epigraphs, plants or geometric ornaments, often with shallow relief (to 1 .5-2.0 mm) six-cornered or square

tiles for filling in large surfaces, coloured strips and bits with stone carving and terracotta. Larger details were done for a short period (16th century) using faience tiles. This explanation of terms shows the variety of materials, forms, and orna¬

ments. Some types of architectural ceramics lasted for many centuries, some only for a short while.

The rise of architectural ceramics is connected with the desire to provide

artistic form to buildings. Earlier details were purely decorative, a simple continua¬ tion of architectural decoration from unburnt clay, seen in ancient Khorezm and

Varakhshi. Early ceramics and tiles from burnt brick usually cover crude walls. The rise of glaze covering in architectural ceramics was partly for decorative reasons, but was also seen as a means of protecting the building and precious ceramic tile

details from erosion. Fully covered cupolas provided a rich decorative tiled facade.

In the development of architectural ceramics in Uzbekistan, the progress in decora¬ tion and technological complexity are considered, from simple details of loess ceramics to complex faience mosaic, the culmination of the development of ce¬ ramic decoration.

EARLY CERAMIC DECORATION

The art of pottery was mastered long ago and the techniques were trans¬

ferred to architecture. The materials (ordinary loess) were plentiful. The raw clay is easy to mould by hand6 and by the 1st century BC architectural ceramics began to appear in decoration.

There are many examples of early ceramic decoration in the architecture of

Uzbekistan. On a silver Khorezm dish there is a fortress (6th-7th century) whose facade is decorated with figures and the upper part of the walls shows three-pronged teeth7. Archaeologists often find fragments of large ceramic details with these threepronged teeth with three-cornered or arched cut-outs in the middle, circles with

6 For more details on materials and techniques of producing architectural ceramics see Chapter 11 "The background of construction technology in Uzbekistan". 7

V.A. Nilsen. Rural constructions of early feudalism in Uzbekistan. Architectural

inheritance, Issue 17, M., Publishing House for construction, 1964, p. 192, III.5.

14

N.S. Grazhdankina

crosses in the centre and lambdas (as on the 1st century BC Khanaka-tepa palace

building near Denau or the 5th-6th century BC Ak-tepa fortress near Tashkent. The

fragments measure 26-31 cm and 4.5-5 cm in thickness). Similar ones are found in Kyrgyzstan. In Turkmenistan, the halls of the palace of ancient Nisa (1st to 2nd

century BC) were decorated with various terracotta details of complex forms8.

Carved terracotta tiles in half-circles with a diameter of 43 cm and a thick¬

ness of 6.8-7.8 cm were found in digs at the Vrakhsh palace (6th-8th century). At Afrosiab in the 9th century buildings from raw brick and panels from ceramic tiles were made with the form of an extended six-sided figure. For burnt brick floor coverings, thin, lightly burnt right-angled and six-sided tiles with printed ornament were used (illustrations 1 and 2). In the 8th century ceramic hearths were widely used in house interiors, covered in stamped ornament for household, cultural and decorative purposes9.

ARCHITECTURAL CERAMICS IX - XIII

centuries

In the 9th century facing ceramics were introduced along with the early use of burnt brick as a wall material. Earlier buildings were built from raw brick with

revetment from burnt clay (the Kalpyridjeb mausoleum near Khodjeili), often in

combination with cut gypsum (the Rabati-Malik caravansarai near Malik). Only a few unique buildings, such as the Samarid mausoleum in Bukhara and the Arab-ata mausoleum in Tim were completely made from burnt brick.

The simplest type of ceramic revetment was burnt brick usually with the same format as raw brickwork. A typical example is the Kalpyridjeb mausoleum of

the 10th-11th century near Khodjeili in Karakalpakstan. The walls are made from square raw brick (27-28 cm x 5-5.5 cm). For the facade only the bricks whose

facing surface was carefully polished on stone were burnt. The cupola was made of

8 G.A. Pugachenkova. Architectural monuments of Nisa. Proceedings of the YuTAKE, vol. 1, Ashkhabad, 1949, pp. 222-223, III. 10-11; N.S. Grazhdankina. Ancient building materials of Turkmenistan, Proceedings of the YuTAKE, vol. VIII, Ashkhabad, 1958, p. 43, Table 8, "acanthus" column.

9 G.A. Pugachenkova. Elements of the Sogdian architecture on medieval terracottas. Pro¬ ceedings of the Institute of History and Archaeology, Materials on archaeology and ethnog¬

raphy of Uzbekistan. Vol. 11, Tashkent, Academy of Science of the UzSSR, 1950, p. 47.

Chapter I.

burnt brick. Fiered

15

brick was used in the monumental raw brick buildings of 9th-

10th century Kyrk-kyz in ancient Termez. At present, only a few pieces of the revet¬ ment of the external walls and towers remain. Burnt brick was used in several con¬

structions in arches and coverings of windowed passages. As with raw brick, the size is 29-34 x 29-34 x 4.5-6 cm. They were not polished. Often one feature of the

brickwork was the carving of one rib along the lower bed (the reason is explained in

Chapter II "Towards the history of construction techniques of Uzbekistan").

Facing brick, as with any ceramics fired in old kilns which do not have uni¬

formity of temperature, have varying colouration: pink, red, blue, brown, pale, yel¬ low and green. To make a uniform surface for walls in entrances, the external side of the brick polished was covered with ochre paint. The Kalian minaret of 1127 was covered with a lacquer similar to a salt/sun glaze. Along with the simple brick facing

covering the exterior, sometimes the inner walls were treated to extend their ser¬ vice, and decorative revetment in ceremonial buildings developed. At first this was

mainly done using brick, with the usual brickwork replaced by figurative ornamenta¬ tion: smooth and relief.

Bright sunlight highlights the relief of the brickwork, as in the Samarkand mausoleum of the 9th-10th century. Simple square brick (22.5-23 x 2.5-3 cm) cre¬

ates an impression of open work in an unusually light construction, thanks to skilled

laying in vertical and horizontal batches, and deep relief. A few figurative details are executed from the same brick with gypsum added. The results are rings, four-petaled rose windows, leaves, straight-edged, curled columns and others. In a light

gallery in the interior there are some strips carved in gypsum (illustration 3).

The same method of figurative ornamental brickwork was used in the facing of the mausoleums of the 10th century Mir-Said-Bakhram10 in Kermina. Here the burnt brick (21 x 21 x 2.5 cm) used to build the entire mausoleum is laid so that beautiful geometric ornaments in strips cover the main facade. Corner columns have relief areas of the same brick.

Thus in the facing details there are additional figurative elements besides

the burnt brick, prepared first from the brick, then cut and supplemented with gyp¬ sum. First the decorative revetment covers all the building facades and then the decoration is concentrated on the facing, which

The

transforms into the portal.

interior is decorated only if intended for frequent visiting, as in the sanctum of

the mausoleums of the Samanids in Bukhara and the Sultan-Saadat in ancient

16

N.S. Grazhdankina

Termez. The ceramic facing in the interior, protected from the climate, is often re¬

placed by paintings on gypsum plaster and carvings in gypsum. In mosques there are often mikhrab.

Relief brickwork from facing brick, ornamental motifs made from pieces of

brick with carved gypsum, as in the mausoleum of the Samanids, took the following ornamental forms:

1 . The composition of relief brickwork of ceramic details with gypsum served as decorative additions to the holes and large recesses between details, ornamen¬

tation of seams between bricks, and large independent ornamental motifs of gyp¬ sum included in massive ceramic ornamentation. Ornamentation from gypsum is carved and rarely stamped. An early example of facing of this type is to be found on

the 10th century Arab-ata mausoleum in Tim. The portal is covered with figured brick made with carved gypsum. The side and rear facades are covered by paired bricks (23-23.5 x 23-23.5 x 4 cm) with wide vertical seams, filled with gypsum orna¬ ments. This method was used in framing edges of the 1 2th century Yusuf ibn Kusseiir

in the Nakhichevani mausoleum and in the facing of part of the 1 1 th century minaret in Urgent.

In the first facing of the mosque in the Khakim at-Termezi mausoleum this

method was modified: the pairs of bricks were placed tightly, without a large vertical gap between them, but the upper corners were cut so that a free space formed,

filled with gypsum with a carved bantik. Later the wall was covered completely by gypsum plaster with some carving of these bantik. A second plaster layer dates from 11th century.

Paired bricks with large empty seams (26.5-28.5 x 26.5-28 x 5 cm) cover the external walls of the 11th century Sultan-Saadat mausoleum in ancient Termez (il¬ lustration 4). Also to be included here is the trimming on the caravan-sarai portal of the 11th century Rabati-Malik near Malik, the portal of the 12th century MagokiAttari in Bukhara, and the 11th-12th century Shakhi-Zinda, the remains of which were discovered together with the nameless mausoleum No 2 in 1959. In the

composition of its revetment, there is a panel of the type found in the portal of the Magoki-Attari mosque. The panel was made of lattice, with details cut out of brick,

and the mould filled with gypsum (illustration 5). A whole group of ceramic details for

lattices was discovered in 1958 in the digs at Afrosiab. Here also belong the inscrip-

Chapter I.

17

tions or ornaments made of ceramic details, between which lies carved gypsum, as in the mikhrab of the 11th century Khakim at-Termezi mausoleum, the inscription on

the 12th century eight-sided Djarkurgan minaret, the strip of inscription of the 14th century Kunia-Urgench mausoleum, and the Yusuf ibn Kusseiir mausoleum in Nakhichevani.

2. The composition of the brickwork relief with figurative ceramic details making up the ornamental panels, strips, and borders, the method widely used in Uzbekistan in the 11th and 12th centuries. For example the 12th century minarets of Bukhara and Vabkent, the lower part of the small minaret at the 1 1 th-1 2th century Kusam ibn Abbasa mausoleum in Shakhi-Zinda, the west wall of the 12th century mosques in Namazgakh and Magoki-Attari in Bukhara, and the 11th century mau¬

soleum in Sultan-Saadat in Termez (illustrations 6,7).

3. Terracotta with carved epigraphs and decorative ornaments used in the

simpler facing with polished, sometimes figurative brick, forming borders, belts, separate decorative motifs as found on columns in 12th century minarets in Bukhara and Vabkent and on minarets in Djarkurgan and ancient Termez. Most 11 th-1 2th

century architectural details covered with complex carving have been found in digs

in Samarkand. All types of facing illustrate the complexity and perfection of ceramic art in the 11th and 12th centuries. Several traditions are involved: a well known

categorization of details of facing ceramics was created and specific methods es¬

tablished that are still recognised today. Ceramic carved mosaic developed to such an extent during this period that it supplanted almost all earlier forms of ceramic decoration.

The architectural facades of buildings like mausoleums, khanaki and

mosques came into being at this time. The main facade stands out, highlighted by a portal. The portal decorations are rich, using one of the three methods or some

combination. The large surfaces of the walls, sometimes the sides, and wide strips on the minaret columns are covered by facing tiles singly or in pairs of polished brick as in earlier times.

Empty vertical seams were filled not with gypsum, which did not last long, but by special tile cross pieces made from one of the common forms called bantik.

The earliest surviving tile crosspieces are found in the mid-1 1th century SultanSaadat mausoleum. The crosspieces are very strong and are found even in monu-

18

N.S. Grazhdankina

ments of the 1 7th-1 8th century at the Char-Bakr cemetery near Bukhara. A bantik is

a typical tile in its classical form, the upper side decorated and the underside stretched to form a spike for attaching to the building or other tiles. The size of the facing side is closed at a height corresponding to one or two bricks laid prone, and the width of one brick. Rumpa in this period has three forms: a long one from 10-16 cm, linking

tiles directly with the brickwork; medium of 5-7 cm, connecting only with facing brickwork, and short, of 2.5-3 cm fixed in gypsum at a special depth.

In the first group are tile crosspieces on the minaret of the Kusam ibn Abbas mausoleum, on the foundations of the unnamed mausoleum No 2 beside the ShakhiZinda monument and on the column of the Kalian minaret in Bukhara.Tiles of me¬

dium rumpa are found on the west face of the Namazgakh mosque in Bukhara, on the columns of the interior of the central mausoleum Sultan-Saadat in Termez, and

in the Muzlum-khan-sulu mausoleum near Khodjeili. A short rumpa is seen in the

bantik with blue glaze found in excavation around the Kalian mosque from 1126. In the facing of portals, the strips of basic decoration are very important, in the form of

the letter f framing the niche at the entrance. The most important part is the inscription done in high relief with a back¬

ground of lower plant ornaments, and the strips of geometric ornament with deep relief producing an impression of transparent latticework. An example of this orna¬ ment is found in the brick relief brickwork on the top of the azan of the Kalian

minaret, on the portal of the Magoki-Attari mosque and others. Strips are made from separate tiles the same width as the strip.

The length of the tiles with epigraph ornament was not constant and de¬ pended on the alteration of the long Arabic

letters '

' and '

', which determined

the size of the strip. Lattice tiles usually include one or two ornamental motifs and are cut between them. Sometimes, for example in mikhrab of the Namazgakh mosque in Bukhara, the lattice is found on the wall made from separate sections both trian¬

gular and square in form (illustration 8).

The transition from the plane of the portal grooves in corners of the entrance is reinforced by ? columns, usually with a corner strip having a transverse profile of the facing surface in the form of a flowing curve, and the reverse side in the form of a corner. The facing surface is partly covered by carved epigraphic ornamentation. The columns are made from separate blocks, with carving on the open surface and

Chapter I.

19

a lengthened shtrob on the reverse side to the groove, which strengthens the block at the brick ledge in the corner of the wall. The capitals and bases of columns are also made in the form of blocks.

The blocks of the columns are joined to each other and to the base and

capital with special keystones in the blocks in the form of deepened, gypsum-filled material. Some columns are made of profiled horizontal tiles as thick as bricks. On the sides of the entrance arches there are carved panels, consisting of several elements. Arches in ancient passageways are laid with specially profiled tiles.

Tympanums in

entrance niches are covered by carved

tiles.

In ancient

doorways and squinches (sails, most likely referring to the belt around the lower interior of the cupola, which is shaped like a sail) in interiors as well as the azan in minarets with their columns, a system of intricately formed stalactites is used.

Together with the intricacy of form and ornament of carved decorations arises

the necessity of filling space between strips and panels of leading ornaments and framing them. Alongside the complex carving in facing portals or mikhrab of mosques, and sometimes on the side facades appear two to three types of simple tiles:

1) narrow strips 2-2.5 to 3-4 cm wide, 10-20-30-50 cm long with a rumpa of slightly wedged form 6-15 cm deep;

2) tiles of the same size and type but with the facing side having the profile of a plinth;

3) small tiles with facing side 7-12 x 3-4 cm with a wedged rumpa, placed 7-10 cm inside the wall. From such tiles, laid horizontally in vertical strips and vertically in horizontal strips, are formed strips sepa rating the main ornamental strips. Later they were made in blocks only separated by little bricks.

Tiles of the first type served as frames of narrow strips of geometric orna¬ ments, plinths, for framing wide strip ornaments and panels. Besides their decorative purpose, these tiles, due to the large deepening of the rumpa in the

span, served as a support for large tiles, forming ribbon ornaments. Considering the service role of these tiles, they will be referred to as 'service tiles' (illustration 9).

20

N.S. Grazhdankina

On the lower part of walls there are sometimes panels of large carved plinths with

various ornaments. Continuous ceramic facing covers the outer walls of buildings. In the interior in this period the mikhrab niches of mosques (Namazgakh in Bukhara,

Khakim at-Termezi) and paru are decorated.

The walls of interiors are often covered with paintings (Ziaratkhana mauso¬

leum Kusam ibn Abbas). No mausoleums with carved terracotta facing have survived, though there are many fragments of this decoration that can be easily

dated from monuments in Kyrgyzstan (Uzgent) and later (14th century) mausole¬ ums whose facing preserves these forms and differs only in the continuous glazed cover.

In the 11th and 12th centuries glazed ceramic details appear in building

decoration. The first use of glaze is hard to establish, because no entire monument from this period survives, but fragments of ceramics on tiles allow us to date the introduction into architecture of ceramics to the 11th and 12th centuries.

Thus in the foundation of decorative columns on the facade of the left mau¬

soleum of the 11th century Sultan-Saadat, there are remains of a narrow strip of ceramic ornament covered with blue glaze. On the minaret Kalian in Bukhara there

was a band of large tiles with painting cut in high relief (1 .5-1 .8 cm). Tiles covered in blue opaque glaze date from the building of the minaret in 112711. The cut panels

with round carved framing in the centre, covered with blue opaque glaze, was found in Afrosiab at the site of the mausoleum determined by M. E. Masson as the

Karakhanid Ibragim ben Khusein mausoleum (1186-1199).

At

Afrosiab near the 12th century Karakhanid mosque fragments of tiles

with blue and white and sometimes manganese-cherry glaze were found, made

using a technique of limiting variegated glazes of deep cut. The tiles of this type with complete covering of blue glaze and even geometric drawing with white and cherry glaze with limited colours of the cutting, dated to the 11 th-1 2th centuries, were used

for laying floors, and probably for building panels in ruins near Don-aryk Chuis district and at Sadovoi near Belovodsk in Kyrgyzstan (illustration 10).

10 Dated by G.A. Pugachenkova. The Arab-ata mausoleum. The art of architects of Uzbekistan, II, Tashkent, 1963, p.103.

11 The fragments of tiles are kept in the branch of the Bukhara Museum, in the former Sitorai-Makhi-Hosa palace.

Chapter I.

21

Many fragments of carved terracotta with relief, partially covered with blue glaze, were found in various districts near Samarkand and Shakhrisabz. Ribbons

with epigraph carved ornament under blue glaze frame the arches of the entrance

to the Magoki-Attari mosque in Bukhara. Thus, the use of glaze in architecture began in the first quarter of the 12th century (Kalian minaret) and even in the 11th

century (Sultan-Saadat). The uses of glaze at this time: partial interspersion in terracotta with carved ornament, framing in terracotta facing, completely glazed tiles and three-colour tiles with limited shades of blue glaze of up to 5mm deep carving.

CERAMIC FACING XIV century

The Mongol war in the 1220s delayed the development of construction in

Central Asia. New buildings began to be constructed only in the mid-1 4th century, among them the Buian-Kuli-khan mausoleum (1358) in Bukhara, the MukhammadBoshsharo mausoleum (1324-43) in Mazari-Sherif, and mausoleums in Shakhi-Zinda.

The 14th century was a time of outstanding development in decorative ce¬

ramics in Uzbekistan. It was as if ceramicists were seeking to make up for lost time by reviving old methods and hungrily absorbing new ideas. The last quarter of the century was especially productive as the campaigns of Temur paved the way for

vast new construction possiblities. At the beginning of the century facing ceramics was not limited to the area of modern Uzbekistan and was developed in other parts of Central Asia.

There are many similarities with the early period: the same traditional orna¬

ment in carved tiles, though these are now fully glazed, the same principles of assorted ceramic details completely covering the building.The facing technique of the 1 2th century was used extensively on buildings of the 1 4th century: Mazar Manasa in Talassk valley (Kyrgyzstan) and the minaret in Kunia-Urgench (Turkmenistan). The decorative as well as the construction traditions of the 1 1 th-1 2th centuries were

preserved. Both buildings are covered by cut terracotta, with paired bricks with bantik crosspieces. The paintings on the bands of the minaret were done in the

11 th-1 2th12 century traditions from separate ceramic elements fixed in place with a thick layer of gypsum solution.

12

N.S. Grazhdankina. Ancient building materials of Turkmenistan, Proceedings of the

YuTAKE, vol. VIII, Ashkhabad, 1958, pp. 169-170.

22

N.S. Grazhdankina

The Mukhammad-Boshshro mausoleum in Tajikistan has facing of the tran¬

sition type: from terracotta to completely glazed ceramics. These are richly carved with ornaments on terracotta in the form of traditional ribbons of epigraphs on a

background of plant weaving and open work lattice strips, framed by blue glaze service tiles. The centres of geometric motifs were filled with deep insets now

almost completely lost. There are blue glaze covered and square crosspiece tiles

with deep relief, close in construction to Khorezm crosspieces of the 13th-14th cen¬ turies (illustration 1 1 ). Early ceramics of this period include carved four-colour glazed

facing in the interior of the ziaratkhana at the 1 331 Kusam ibn Abbas mausoleum in Shakhi-Zinda (illustration 12).

Green-blue, faded blue, cherry and white glaze highlights delicate plant re¬ lief decoration. Of especial note are the white irises on a blue background of stalac¬

tites in the parus. At the beginning of the 14th century, the secondary facing of the

portal between the older mausoleums in the Sultan-Saadat complex in ancient Termez was made. The character of the painting and the colour of glaze on the

variegated majolica of the portal is close to the 14th century facing ceramics on the mausoleums of Shakhi-Zinda.The characteristic detail in the first half of the 14th

century in the mosaic facing of columns framing the entrance of the middle building is identical to mosaics in Azerbaijan mausoleums of the 1320s (Barda, Karabagliar). In both the mosaic details are mostly geometric forms made from ordinary loess

paste. These early attempts to use mosaic in architecture in the East were not continued. The difficulty of processing clay ceramics forced builders to use readymade mosaics of faience, which could be easily cut.

These examples of early 14th century ceramic facing underwent a marked development later that century.The first of the main types of facing ceramics were

carved ones fully covered in glazed details, based on the methods and traditions of carved terracotta of the 12th century. They are so similar to each other that some

terracotta details found in digs at the necropolis of Shakhi-Zinda look factory-made (illustration 16).

The mausoleum built in 1360 in the Shakhi-Zinda necropolis and the Buian-

Kuli-khan mausoleum (1358) in Bukhara are covered with carved glazed ceramic

facing. White, cherry, blue and green-blue glazes cover delicate carving on portals and the interiors. The back and side facades were more modestly tiled. In a 1360

Samarkand mausoleum, they are covered by paired bricks with blue crosspieces

Chapter I.

23

in the form of bantik with short rumpa; in a Bukhara mausoleum such facing was

only on the suf (raised platform encircling the building), and on corner columns were guldast (flower ornaments). On the sides of the Buian-Kuli-khan mausoleum there were panels of ceramics, of which only part of the framing remains.

Carved glaze ceramics dominate the facing of several other mausoleums in Shakhi-Zinda, but alongside the second type appearing in the 14th century: painted

majolica on clay ceramic foundation (late 14th century mausoleum attributed to the Emir of Bukhara, the 1375-6 Tuglu-Tekin mausoleum and the 1886 Emir-zade mau¬

soleum). The range of glaze and ceramic colours in the painting increases: to the basic four colours, yellow, green and salad-green are added. Red is rarely used,

only to cover white glaze undercoating. Black and brown are used for outlining the contours of the figure, partly as new ornamentation, partly to preserve the glaze from mixing during baking. From the last quarter of the 14th century gilding is used, usually as a strip of fine foil of real gold, attached by hot or cold means to the glazed surface.

Together with the two types of ceramics there are instances of facing using

coloured majolica on a clay ceramic foundation (late 14th century mausoleum of master AN Nesefi in Shakhi-Zinda). In the mid-1 4th century faience appears on

facing with carved glazed ceramics and multicoloured majolica on clay foundations: at first as a ribbon with a weakly printed relief and the same square tiles (KhodjaAkhmad mausoleum in Shakhi-zinda), later in the form of large tiled details of as¬

sembled panels (the panel on the main facade and in the interior of the 1 372 ShadiMulk mausoleum in Shakhi-Zinda, illustration 13).

Later faience separates from carved ceramics and is combined only with

tiled majolica on a clay ceramic foundation, as in the unnamed mausoleum No 2 in Shakhi-Zinda of the late 1 4th century. In its decoration there is a panel of fine faience

elements, figured faience finishing of blue ceramic latticework, large faience tiles

painted in many colours, continuous clay ceramic details, covered in multicoloured

glaze for finishing tympanums, bright gilded facing tiles on clay, ribbons of faience tiles, and finally, eight-pointed stars and crosses on a panel or covering of a tomb.

As a leitmotif through all the decoration there are small stars formed of three

crossing strips of gold foil on all details (illustrationl 4). Further development of faience

facing in the 14th century is evident in the six-colour carved ceramic mosaic, a fine

24

N.S. Grazhdankina

example being the facing of the 1385 Shirin-beka-aka mausoleum. Rich facing on

the mausoleum and khanaka Tuman-aka of the early 14th century is the logical continuation of mosaic facing development. The Tuman-aka mausoleum is the cul¬

mination of this development, as the later buildings of the 15th-16th centuries and

later did not add anything to this style. Let us look more closely at the placing and composition of various forms and types of facing ceramics relating to the decoration

of portals. Traditions of the 11 th-1 3th centuries are preserved in the 14th century, and develop further.

Masters with their new, more convenient material, faience, which glazes better than clay ceramics thanks to coloured glazes and gilding, begin to make more intricate facing and create new methods of masking seams between details.

In the mausoleums of 1360, Tuglu-Tekin, Shadi-Mulk, Khodja-Akhmad, Emir-zade,

there are portal facings with wide strips of epigraphs on a background of fine carv¬

ing or painting, the main ornament and a deep girikh (plant ornament), resembling a transparent latticework. Tiles of the main ornament are held by plinths.

The free space between them is filled with service tiles, imitating bricks, placed perpendicular to the strips. The transition from the faience flatness of the

portal to the corner columns of the entrance to the niche is done with the help of corner joint support, usually covered with carved coloured kufi. Columns are made

of separate blocks, the sidepieces of the entrance arches are covered with panels, and stalactites with stars made of rhombuses.

Details of the facing are covered with fine carving. The carving of the ribbons on the tiles and columns on the blocks covered as much space as possible coinciding with the borders of details to the long Arabic letters or masking with ornament. In the Shadi-Mulk mausoleum, an intelligent method of masking seams is used. The wide ribbon of the main ornament of an eight-petaled rosette is cut finely in the middle. In the middle of the cut there are small circular indentations

in the tiles, where round tiles are placed with various finely drawn ornaments. In the

same mausoleum the ribbon painting is done not by carving on clay foundation, but by a light printing on faience.

Even on the portal of the Bukhara mausoleum Buian-Kuli-khan (1358) the traditional elements of ceramic facing are preserved, though in architectural forms it differs from mausoleums in Shakhi-Zinda. The exception is the portal of the mauso-

Chapter I.

leum of the master

25

AN, covered in unique painting of convex crosspiece ribbons of

kufi inscriptions, made of lengthened tiles and in places of joining cross-shaped forms. In mausoleums with facing ceramic mosaics, the forms of decoration are

wide strips of epigraphs and basic ornaments composed of fine details carved in faience. The role of service tiles is carried out by narrow strips of mosaic border

with simple unbroken or repeating ornament and small ribbons of monochrome faience in blue, light blue or black.

Portals have facing of various types, and the columns with guldast at the portal corners are covered with the corresponding type of facing. In mausoleums where portals were decorated with carved glaze ceramics (1360 mausoleum in Shakhi-Zinda) or with ceramics in combination with majolica on faience foundation

(mausoleum Khodja-Akhmad of the mid-1 4th century in Shakhi-Zinda), they are covered with multicoloured glazed tiles with ornaments. This type of facing of guldast is seen in the 12th century mausoleum in Uzgent. In the 14th century, only glaze is added.

The guldast of the Tuglu-Tekin mausoleum, where the facing consists of carved glazed ceramics with multicoloured majolica on clay foundation, are cov¬ ered with shaped majolica tiles with painting in many colours and gilding. The third

type of guldast seen in the 14th century is the facing of hollow blocks in the form of a ? cylinder, covered in brick and organically connected with the brickwork of the portal column, with the surface of the blocks corresponding to the decoration of the portal. It was covered either by carved glazed tiles (Shadi-Mulk mausoleum in ShakhiZinda) or with painting with ceramic colours on a smooth glazed surface (mauso¬ leum of master AN in Shakhi-Zinda, illustration 15).

Portals and the remaining facades may be richly decorated, depending on where the monument is located or remain bare, with paired bricks and blue glazed

crosspiece tiles. Paired bricks can be whole with special carving for a crosspiece. Sometimes they are cut in half and sharpened into a wedge (1360 mausoleum

in Shakhi-Zinda), and sometimes simple tiles with the facing side are divided by a

pair of bricks (14th century mausoleum of master AN in Shakhi-Zinda13). Cupolas

13 It is interesting to note that during repair works in this mausoleum which might be under¬ taken in the 14th c. they used Dutch tiles with short ? simulating both a pair of bricks and a bow" band printed with stamping on the end of the tile and covered with blue glaze.

26

N.S. Grazhdankina

are covered with tiles of clay ceramics. Few cupolas remain to which no repairs have been done so it is difficult to comment on the types of facing. We can only

suppose that the old traditions of covering them with blue tiles continued.

Some cupolas were covered with large tiles with blue glaze and ornaments

on a terracotta tile foundation (Shirin-beka-aka mausoleum in Shakhi-Zinda). In the

14th century interiors were richly decorated. In the early 14th century in the ziararatkhana mausoleum Kusam ibn Abbas of 1331, there were carved ceramics

covering the inside of the cupola and the squinch, and the walls were covered with

painting. In the Buian-Kuli-khan mausoleum and mausoleums in Shakhi-Zinda, except for Khodja-Akhmad and Emir-zade, the interiors were covered with variously painted and ornamented ceramics. On the lower part of the walls there

are panels separated from the rest of the wall by horizontal ornamental ribbon.

Panels consist of frames of ornaments, with a border of service tiles, with

continuous six-cornered tiles, consisting of a uniform surface, as in the Burunduk

or Shirin-beka mausoleums. Sometimes panels consist of parts finished in a sepa¬ rate form, as in the mausoleum of Ali or finished with full carved glazed ceramics, as in the Buian-Kuli-khan mausoleum. Stalactites are made of separate blocks.

In the upper part of the walls are tiles of various forms and panels finishing the tympanums of the arches in the squinch area and covering the inner side of cupo¬ las.

The tiles are mostly of small and medium size; large ones are the exception,

as in the panels in the sides of the entrance arch and in the panels of the interior of the mausoleum of AN, whose facing surface measures 90 x 58.5 cm, 4.8 x 5.0 cm

thick, and the height of the printed relief about 0.5 cm. Six-cornered tiles on clay ceramic foundation do not exceed (corner to corner) 20-30 cm with sides 15-15.5 cm and 3 cm thick. In the smaller tiles, these dimensions correspond to 11, 55 and 1.5-2 cm.

The surface of the tiles is covered in variously coloured glazes and ceramic colours. Sometimes there is gilding (illustration 18). Tiles of this type in faience are

different sizes: largest - 20.5; 10; 1.5-18 cm; smallest - 13.6; 5/ 1.5. Faience sixcornered tiles covered in one-coloured glaze sometimes have gold drawing.Thus,

in the 14th century, architectural ceramics are represented by the following forms:

Chapter I.

27

1. Carved terracotta of the 11 th-1 3th century type;

2. Carved terracotta, sometimes covered in light blue glaze or made up of small glazed details;

3. Carved ceramics with complete covering of glaze of four colours: light blue, faded blue, white and cherry, and in one or the other element we can find two

or three colours of glaze. Rarely we see drawn contours of carved red ceramic colour with a covering of relief gilding;

4. Majolica on clay ceramic foundation, including:

a) tiles of various types with one-colour or two-colour glaze - white, light blue, faded blue, cherry, violet blue. Yellow is used only to cover painting. There are some paintings on glaze with fine white and red lines and gilding.

b) tiles of various sizes and uses (stalactites, blocks of columns, capitols, bases, cornices) of one colour and many coloured glazed and under-glazed paint¬ ing and gilding. The colour of glaze is light blue, white, blue, yellow, green and salad-green, and occasionally red. This is not really glaze but the ceramic colour, always applied to real glaze covering and which has no shine.

To prevent mixing of the coloured glazes during baking, the following meth¬

ods were used: cutting, printing of convex or deepening of the drawing, drawing over the contour of the drawing with black, brown or red slow-melting dye. The glaze is opaque and like enamel. Majolica designs differ in the large assortment

of motifs and a tendency to standardize details. The tiles are square, right-angled and six-cornered. When most of the surface is covered, they have the same size and design. An exception is large tiles on the drum (tympanum) of the mausoleum

by AN, where some of the kufi letters are drawn so that when the tiles are placed, a design of large letters appears.

5. Majolica on faience foundation in the form of tiles, large and small details of a group panel or panels with one-colour and multicoloured glaze coverings, with underglaze and overglaze painting on smooth surfaces or surfaces stamped with

light relief. The glaze and ceramic colours in addition to the colours of the clay ceramics are brown and dark green. Gold is used widely. The tendency to standard¬

ize details on faience is not common. The assortment of tiles is broad and changes depending on the use. The ornament on painting, as on majolica on clay ceramics, is done as one detail per tile, even if a large part of the facing is composed of these details (Shadi-Mulk-aka mausoleum).

28

N.S. Grazhdankina

6. Mosaic on faience with glaze in six colours: white, blue, green, black, light

blue and gold-yellow, with traces of gilding. Occasionally pale-grey-light-blue is found (drum of Shirin-beka-aka mausoleum) and light-cherry (tiles on the walls of the entrance to the Khodja-Akhmad mausoleum). Red, characteristic of Khorezm and Golden Hoard mosaics, were not used here. Fine mosaic details without glaze and

even coloured with rose coloured aquarelle are found. Sometimes faience even has a rose colour, if it was baked at a high enough temperature.

In conclusion, we underline the characteristic trait of this period, the unusual

blossoming of skill. While not ignoring the pre-Mongol period, masters of the 14th century developed and perfected the technique of mass production of glazed items on clay ceramics and faience.

New forms of ceramic details appeared, all ceramic covering became more

complex and sophisticated, new forms of ornament appeared, richly coloured contents were used, and new techniques of gilded glaze covers were used. New methods of artistic and constructive application of various forms of architectural ceramics were developed.

CERAMIC FACING of the late XIV- XV centuries.

At the beginning of the 1 5th century, Uzbekistan was the site of grand build¬

ings such as the mosque ensemble of Temur in Samarkand known as Bibi-khanum, the Ak-Sarai palace and the mausoleum Djakhangir (Khazret-lmam) in Shakhrisabz, the Akhmad lassavi mausoleum in Turkestan. Even today the scale and richness of

the ceramic decoration are impressive. Less grand buildings such as the Gur-Emir mausoleum in Samarkand, the mausoleum and women's khanaka of Timur

Tuman-aka in Shakhi-Zinda, the Zengi-ata near Tashkent also date from this

period.

In the early 1 5th century in Bukhara, Samarkand, Shakhrisabz and Gijduvan,

Ulugbek built several large buildings with ceramic facing. The large buildings with their many rooms could not maintain the same types and forms of facing traditional in earlier years for relatively small, often one-room, buildings. In the new buildings, old well-known types of architectural ceramics are used, though with new mounting.

Chapter I.

29

An innovation of this period is the use of carved stone in facing combined with faience and clay ceramics. A strip of glazed faience is cut in stone following a design (Ulugbek mosque in Samarkand). There are tympanums, colossal entrance arches, decorative panels and exterior walls panels covered with figures with carved ornamental stone, in combination with mosaics and multicoloured

majolica.

Large surfaces of walls, portals, and trunks of minarets that needed to be covered with facing stimulated the development of mosaics composed of tiles with large ornaments which could be seen from afar. Mosaics consist of glazed tiles of blue, light blue, occasionally white or green, depicting ornaments on a foundation of polished glazed tiles of that size. The painting of the ornament was done directly on

the wall by means of 'freezing' the tiles with fast-drying gypsum paste.

The facing side of large and small tiles had three standard units, which for each group had the same width of facing side 'a' and length of the main tile T, for the medium about 2/3 x I, for the small - 1 = a, i.e., the small tile had a square form

of facing surface. For large tiles of the late 14th-15th century, I = 19.8-21 cm, a = 5.5-6 cm, and in small tiles I = 17.5-18.5 cm, a = 4.5-5.3 cm.

Faience mosaics with fine festive painting were interspersed with tile mosa¬ ics composed of smooth terracotta or carved stone. Shaped tiles of multicoloured

majolica were combined with terracotta, as for example on the faceted minarets of the main building of Bibi-khanum or on the faceted towers framing the entrance

portal of the Ak-Sarai Palace in Shakhrisabz. The same method is used for decorat¬

ing the entrance of the Ulugbek Medressah in Samarkand (1420).

Majolica on a clay ceramic foundation is used extensively during this period. Its details preserve the appearance of the previous century, but are much larger in scale. The size of some of them (stalactites, cornices) is so great that attaching them to the brickwork required ceramic 'buttonholes' (petlia) and lugs on the back.

For smaller details, ceramics with paste of a special deepening of diameter 1-2 and depth 1-1.5 cm was used.

Wide strips with decorative and epigraphic ornaments were made from large

tiles which were square, right-angled, and six-cornered. For the facing the columns of some panels, or of arch and niche tympanums, six-cornered tiles were used,

30

M.K. Rakhimov

covered with coloured glazes and ceramic colours with lavish gilding. The orna¬ mental subject was usually placed in a frame of one detail, however, in this period the tendency to standardize details of ceramic facing hides the traces of the many types of facing, the lavish ornaments and many different combinations between separate types of facing materials.

Bright colours of surface glazes, lavish gilding, huge surfaces completely covered with various ceramics: these are the features of architectural decoration

of the late 14th and early 15th century. Even for smaller buildings covered in ceram¬ ics carved ceramics were not used. Only at great heights, in one of the upper rooms

of Ak-Sarai, is there facing of tiles with glazed light blue and white, separated from each other by cutting, and in one of the country palaces of Ulugbek there are exquisite examples of carved terracotta in the Chinese pavilion, used for the combi¬

nation with Chinese porcelain six-cornered tiles under white with cobalt painted glaze (illustration 17).

Faience, widely used in mosaic, is also used in the construction of panels,

especially in interiors. Six-cornered tiles, covered in dull blue or transparent green glaze, are framed by ribbons of mosaic bordure with delicate plant runners. Some¬ times the panel is completely covered in monochrome majolica. Smaller buildings of the early 15th century (mausoleum and women's khanaka Temur Tuman-aka) were completely covered with carved mosaic on faience. In the late 15th century, as Alisher Navoi noted, a new type of building was constructed in Samarkand with new principles as to the use of ceramic facing. This was the Ak-Sarai, now in ruins, and the better preserved Ishratikhana mausoleum.

With the change in the architectural aspect of buildings, the facing also changed. The heavy, vibrant, rich Timurid ceramics, so varied and dazzling in na¬ ture, gave way to fine delicate work, carefully designed ornaments and ceramic production. On a base of one-toned, polished terracotta tiles, there are small faience tiles with a transparent glaze of light blue or blue with four-pointed black or white

stars in the centre in harmonious combination (illustration 19).

Five-light stars and six-cornered tiles of faience under a white transparent glaze with cobalt painting are sometimes placed among ornaments of polished terracotta, with narrow strips of blue faience. Ribbons are unique, and mosaics

create the impression of quiet, enchanting harmony. The assortment of facing is

Chapter III.

31

unusual, clay ceramics are there only as a foundation. Exquisite faience facing in the interiors combines with fine colourful wall paintings.

In Central Asia there are no analogous facings. There is some similarity in

the general principles of construction of mausoleum facings in the 12th and 14th

centuries in Kunia-Urgench. There the same fine ceramic mosaics are found on a foundation of polished terracotta, but the similarity is somewhat remote. Thus,

of the wide assortment of facing ceramics in use in the late 14th to 15th centuries,

only the multicoloured majolica on clay foundation and the one-colour on faience, used mostly in panels, tiles and carved ceramic mosaics, survived.

Carved glazed ceramics disappeared completely, and carved terracotta and multicoloured majolica on faience with printed relief are rarely seen. However, this more limited assortment of facing underwent extensive development and achieved

perfection. In the late 15th century, the decoration is more modest, but the more sophisticated majolica on faience under transparent coloured glaze with under-glaze painting is seen. During the 15th century, smooth polished terracotta plays a signifi¬ cant role in creating the background for glazed ceramics.

FACING IN THE XVI century

In the 16th century the centre of cultural life in Central Asia moved to the

capital of the Uzbek state of the Sheibanids: Bukhara. This was a period of exten¬ sive construction work: medressahs, mosques, burial vaults. Abdul-la-khan

(1557-1598) was especially active, and his name is connected with many buildings (Khanaka Faizabad, Medressah Abdulla-khan, Madari Abdulla-khan, Kukaldash, much of the Char-Bakr ensemble and others).

Tashkent also saw new building work: the Barak-khan medressah, Kukaldash, the Mukhammad Abu-Bakra Kaffal-Shashi mausoleum. In Samarkand some repairs were carried out and the Childukhtaran burial vault of the Sheibanids was built.

Compared to the techniques of the 15th century, glaze is less in use and polished facing brick is used more. The Kaffal-Shashi mausoleum is covered with this facing under a dull multicoloured glaze. The small one-room mosque of Baliand in Bukhara has rich finishing in the interior, but almost no decoration on the outside walls. The mikhrab was covered with carved ceramic mosaic and beautiful panels of fine

faience six-cornered tiles with blue and green gilded glaze, combined with painting

32

N.S. Grazhdankina

of the ceiling and upper part of the walls. Many trade areas and cupolas covering street intersections do not have glaze facing.

For facing of large buildings the following architectural ceramics were used:

1 . Multicoloured majolica on faience, covered mostly with transparent glaze.

Ornaments are usually outlined with black paint, but the easily melting multicoloured glazes (white, blue, light blue and green) often meld together, creating an unusual variety of colour. Majolica tiles are mostly right-angled and square.

The ornament subject is not placed in the frame of one tile, but over large areas. Even the bordure that in the 15th century was always a separate ribbon of mosaic or majolica on a clay foundation is found here on the same tiles as the basic

ornament. The thickness of the tiles is 1 .5-2 cm and the sides vary from 20-30 cm. A notch or cut or small round incision was made on the back of the tiles for fixing them to the walls.

As before, six-cornered tiles with monochrome glaze and gilding are used (illustration 20). The type of panel found on the balconies in the centre

of the

outside portal of the Abdulla-khan medressah in Bukhara was made of faience

six-cornered tiles covered with white glaze with cobalt painting. The tiles are copies of porcelain six-cornered tiles from the Chinese pavilion of Ulugbek's chinnikhana. This is the only example of this.

2. Tiles of various forms and sizes: from large ones with light blue glaze for facing cupolas (Barak-khan Medressah in Tashkent, Mir-Arab Medressah in Bukhara, Khanka Abdulla-khan in Char-Bakr and others) to small ones, from which the

geometric ornaments in Char-Bakr are made, with their glaze of blue, light blue, white, yellow and black. The material used is faience, occasionally cut from clay (on the facade of the medressah Kukaldash in Tashkent).

3. Cut ceramic mosaic on faience used for decorating portals of some build¬ ings (Char-Bakr) and for constructing panels (Samarkand, Childukhtaran); the

latter

are assembled from mosaic, with the size of details increased and the ornament

made geometric (gurkhana in the Medressah Mir-Arab, the interior of the mosque Khodja-Zainuddin in Bukhara, the mosque in the Kusam ibn Abbas mausoleum in Samarkand).

Chapter I.

33

4. Smooth polished terracotta tiles forming geometric designs bordered by

thin ribbon of glazed tiles, as on the side facade of the Khanaka Khodja-Kalian

(Char-Bakr). Terracotta details of this type are found on the ornamental panels and tympanums of arches on portals of this Khanaka, but here narrow ribbons of glazed faience of blue and light blue separate them. This method, finished with eight-petaled blue rosettes of faience and half rosettes, is used in the Abdulla-khan Medressah.

The connection with the facing style of Ishratkhana is clear (illustration 21).

5. Facing of polished brick. This short list of architectural ceramics of the 16th century suggests that there was less variety as compared to the 15th century.

The ambitious building projects of the 16th century stipulated specific facing. Multicoloured gilded majolica on clay ceramic foundation fell out of use, as did other

forms of glazed ceramics on the same foundation. Faience was widely used. Indeed the 16th century could be known as the century of architectural faience.

Glazes of a chemical composition similar to faience and its relatively high porosity suit faience tiles better than clay. Glazing faience resulted in less damage to details.

During this period, facing of polished terracotta develops with faience en¬

crustation, but it does not achieve the level of originality of late 15th century facing, though in some cases it is very beautiful (as on the Abdulla-khan Medressah). There is a decline in the quality of carved ceramic mosaic; the fine detail, exquisite lines

and colours of the 14th and 15th centuries are lost and only occasionally recall the past level (Baliand mosque).

CERAMIC FACING IN THE XVII - XXth centuries

Despite the economic decline of the 17th century, work continued on monu¬

mental buildings with ceramic facing. In Bukhara the ensemble of Nadir-Divan-begi, the Grand Medressah Abdulazis-khan, the Djuibari-Kalian Medressah, and several burial vaults at the cemetery Char-Bakr and others were built.

In Samarkand, Nadir-divan-begi built the Namazgakh mosque and KhodjaAkhrar Medressah, and lalangtush the ruler of Samarkand, built two medressah at

the Registan: Shirdor and Tilliakari. Near Samarkand the mausoleum Khodja AbduBirun was built. The facing on these buildings is not nearly as fine as that of earlier periods. The buildings of Bukhara, with the exception of the Abdulazis-khan

Medressah, are not fully covered with ceramic. For example, at the 17th century

34

N.S. Grazhdankina

Djuibari-Kalian Medressah only the portal is covered with ceramic mosaic. In the

ensemble Nadir-divan-begi, the decorations on the main facade are minimal. Faience is much less in evidence, used only for mosaics, while tiles and majolica are made

only of clay. The glaze colours are crude and bright: yellow, green, light blue. The ornament paintings are no longer as delicate.

The Abdulazis-khan Medressah is of superior quality, an example of com¬

bining virtually all types of architectural decoration. Ceramics here are seen

in mosaic brickwork using tiles, coloured mosaic on faience and majolica of an original type with relief ornaments, where from right-angled tiles, large panels are assembled with a uniform subject, often on separate tiles.

The majolica and ceramic mosaics are done in yellow and green, and

appear too bright, without the former richness of tone. The glaze, especially in ma¬ jolica, does not shine well. The ceramic decoration of Samarkand buildings, in par¬ ticular the Shirdor Medressah, is closer to past traditions. The mosaic facing

of tympanums and the main portal is done in rich colours: blue, white, green, light blue, black and especially gold-brown with a wide range of transitions from very bright to deep dark tones.

The fine ornament and shiny glaze mosaic ensembles on the walls of the medressah recall the best of the 1 4th-1 5th centuries. The tile mosaics have changed somewhat: the tiles are much smaller and are assembled in separate blocks on the

building area, which are then used to strengthen the walls. They are not separated from each other by seams, but are closely laid edge to edge on the glazed sides. Majolica is prepared as in the 15th century.

The facing of the Tilliakari Medressah is in the same style, but the quality is much worse: the colours are either faded or too sharp, the glaze is duller. The

gilding, from which the medressah derived its name, is made from false gold, unlike in the 14th-17th centuries. In the Khodja-Akhrar Medressah, the foundations of the

facing small-format tiles are made of bright white high quality faience.

The 17th century did not have strong traditions and brought few innovations to architectural ceramics. Masters turned to the past: at the Char-Bakr cemetery near Bukhara, we find facing of paired bricks, with crosspieces of the type of primi¬ tive bantik. The small minaret is faced with a brickwork relief of unglazed tiles.

Chapter I.

35

The minaret Gaukushan in Bukhara, built in the late 16th and early 17th century,

tries to imitate the Kalian minaret. There was little construction in the 18th century,

though things did pick up towards the end of the century until the early 20th century. Khiva, ruined by fighting, was rebuilt, and many new buildings were constructed in Bukhara and other cities.

Ceramics were the main form of decoration, but did not aspire to the levels

of the 14th-1 6th centuries. Styles of facing were mixed and clear principles of ceramics construction on buildings no longer existed; they were decided accord¬

ing the whim of the builder or client. The collection of ceramics lost its traditional forms. The colours and quality of glaze declined sharply. In the Namangan mauso¬ leum Khodjamni Kabri of the late 18th century there was an attempt to revive the

carved terracotta of the 12th century and the carved glazed ceramics of the 14th

century. However, despite the relatively successful carving, the master covered it with glazes of dark green, orange-red and light blue, destroying the harmony of the facing.

In the country palace of the last Bukhara emir Sitorai-Makhi-Khosa (1914-

1917), the second portal is covered with mosaics of faience tiles, and the glaze includes raspberry-red, unusual for Central Asia. One of the larger buildings of the late 19th century is the Khudoiar-khan Palace in Kokand. It has a complete ceramic

facing, made from small majolica tiles, with some examples of multicoloured painted majolica. The glaze colours are bright and sharp: blue, light blue, red, white, yellow,

dark green, terracotta. The durability of the facing ceramics is not high. Poorly baked red tiles disintegrate in frost.

Only the Khiva buildings of the 1 9th century deserve mention for their stylis¬ tic unity of facing, of terracotta and majolica on clay ceramic foundation. The ma¬ jolica is mostly covered in white glaze, the ornaments are outlined in black, and separate elements of ornaments are covered in blue, light blue and occasionally

green glazes. Ornamental subjects are often found on large areas composed of square and right-angled tiles. To avoid mistakes in positioning the tiles on the walls, they were often numbered.

This was done previously though not consistently. Numbers or marks were

made on the back. On 19th century Khiva majolica, numbers were written on the

glazed side in blue on white. The numbers became part of the ornament. The 19th

36

N.S. Grazhdankina

century Khiva glaze is noted for its less shiny finish, dryness and lack of clarity of

colours, and the paintings on majolica for their few details, which sometimes merged together with the glaze. From

the 17th century, there was a decline in facing

architectural ceramics. In a few cases, such as the Shirdor Medressah or partly in the facing of the Khodja-Akhrar Medressah in Samarkand, ceramics attain the level of the 15th century.

Occasionally there are flashes of brilliance in some details of later facing but for the most part facing loses its former artistic quality. Already the striving for the new seems to be over; there are no improvements. Masters only repeat the work

of their predecessors, and none too faithfully. Carved ceramic mosaics are not found after the 17th century. In the mosque Khazrat-Khyzr in Samarkand, the entrance portal and minaret are covered by gypsum plaster painted with dyes of many colours

under facing tiles.

In conclusion, let us recall the characteristics that each period brought to the development of architectural facing ceramics in Uzbekistan. Before the 10th

century there is a period of searching, when ceramics are only occasionally

included in building decoration, sometimes as a substitute for or in combination with natural details. In the 10th century ceramic facing becomes an established part

of decoration, starting with facing brick and brick details. Later, it becomes more sophisticated, with the use of carved gypsum, and in the 12th century it becomes

central to decoration, predominating building covering.

Without colours at their disposal for expressing artistic designs, masters refine their work in the artistic processing of ceramics, achieving a remarkable level of quality. In the 12th century glazes begin to appear in architectural ceramics,

outlining and highlighting the beauty and refinement of carved ornaments.

The 14th century is a time of bright, multi-faceted development of architec¬ tural ceramics, characterized by the widespread use of glaze and the creation of new types of ceramic facing, reaching a zenith of unique standardization of fac¬ ing ceramic details that began even before the Mongol period. The variety of types of ceramics, the richness and care taken in their production attests to the high skill

and artistic taste of ceramicists of that time. In the 15th century, the amount of monumental construction increases the demand for fashionable ceramic facing. The huge quantity of ceramics is accompanied by great skill in finishing and

Chapter II.

37

individuality in architectural style. There is an exaggerated splendour and richness

of detail, but towards the end of the century a new delicacy and reserve emerges. The 16th century is the period of architectural faience. Masters for the most part

used material that was more efficient and complex than clay ceramics. Facing is reserved and individual, slightly less impressive than earlier ceramics. The 17th

century introduces nothing new, maintaining the previous level. Later we see the slow decline of ceramics and expertise.

Our historical heritage is of great value and attests to the great creative skill of the people who managed to produce such artistry in difficult conditions.

Chapter II.

39

CHAPTER II

Towards a history of construction techniques of Uzbekistan (The technology of facing ceramics production and their qualitative indicators) by N.S. Grazhdankina

CLAY CERAMICS

The production method for all types of clay ceramics is essentially the same. We can therefore look into the selection of raw material and the preparation of the

clay mass for facing brick, architectural terracotta and glazed items all together, noting any exceptions. The many chemical analyses of clay ceramics of different

types and eras from the earliest 1st and 2nd century BC clay ceramics to the 19th century show that loess is used, a material which is available throughout Central Asia. The coarse sand only needs to be removed when preparing ceramics with fine carving.

The preparation process has been preserved in a few places. After careful

separation of the surface soil and cultural remains, a hole is dug with ketmen (hoes), water is poured in and the soil thoroughly mixed to create a fine mixture. Water is poured in from time to time to wash the salt from the soil. The mass is stored over the winter in piles so that it freezes, which helps to loosen the soil. Lengthy process¬ ing of the soil (freezing, soaking, hoeing) improves the future mass as has been proven: crumbling increases the plasticity and density of the mass and the longevity of the tiles. Removing the salt guarantees the absence of salt residue during baking, and reduces the moisture content of the mass. To reduce residue deforma¬ tions of early ceramic details, some adobe was added.

To prepare the mass for carved ceramics, fine straw and horsehair were

added to prevent cracking, especially for fine relief work. For very fine relief work reed fluff is sometimes added, especially in the production of fine pottery. Bricks

40

N.S. Grazhdankina

from ancient times were formed in frames on a flat area. The mass was packed into the frame, cut with a wooden bar or by hand, and carefully removed. If the mass was very plastic, then pressing it into the frame makes part of the mass flow out of the form, forming a distinct edge on one or the other side. This helps determine how it was made. In 9th-10th century clay ceramics this was carefully cut away with a knife, later it was ignored. Sometimes ceramics were simply cut with a knife out of a mass of plastic clay.

Separate ceramic details of the early period were formed like brick. Thus, the merlons of Khanaka-tepa in Surkhandarya province were made in bottomless moulds from well-prepared mass with a lot of adobe. The mass was rather liquid and often flowed out of the moulds. The merlons in the Ak-tepa fortress near Tashkent

were cut from the plastic mass, not strengthened clay, sometimes using moulds. The formed mass was strengthened with some adobe, introduced to preserve the mass from cracking during drying. Brick and large details were dried on the platform where the bricks were formed.

Simple details of ceramic facing of 11 th-1 2th century clay ceramics (small bars, baffles, plinths) used to make unique latticework with nests made of carved gypsum were simply cut from baked brick. Large figured details (the main part of the braids on portals of the caravanserai Rabati-Malik) were cut from dried unbaked brick. Small parts of ornaments with figures were usually cut by a knife from slightly strengthened raw mass.

This is the same for tiles and crosspieces. The exception is the Kalian mina¬ ret which was finished with baked brick, similar to monuments in Turkmenistan.

Layers (courses) of clay, from which all types of ceramics were cut, were specially prepared. The well mixed clay mass was spread in a layer of necessary thickness on a stone or wooden sheet with bars placed on the sides. The clay was sometimes rather liquid, as suggested by water bubbles in the material.

After leaving it in a dark place, from one to four days depending on the temperature of the air, the clay was cut into pieces of the necessary size, beaten out with a stone or ceramic punch to make them compact, after which the item was finished and dried to the point when handling would not produce deformations.

On the facing surface, a net was marked for cutting the relief. After complete drying, the item was baked. Cutting out complex two-plan ornaments on raw clay required

Chapter II.

41

great mastery and care. The water content of the clay had to be constant. Remains of carvers' instruments suggest the mass was firm during cutting. To prevent over-

drying of unfinished items during breaks in the work, the items were covered with a damp cloth. The drying of cut items was done where evaporation would not occur too rapidly. The traces of the assisting net used for carving the drawing are notice¬ able on most terracotta.

The foundations for the glazed items were prepared in a similar way. If the

items were produced as a series, the clay mass was cut with a form after beating. The forms were not identical, so almost all items were further worked on after bak¬

ing. If the glaze was limited to the side (bortik) or the cut surface, then the partially dried surface was stamped with the relief, and afterwards shliker (baking glaze) was poured or the carving of grooves using a form was done.

The foundations of glazed tiles for facing cupolas and walls was cut from layers of formed mass (16th-18th centuries) or attached from raw lightly processed

clay with the help of smooth rulers (14th-15th centuries). Using the latter method, standard sizes were hard to maintain, thus almost all glazed tiles of this time have

traces of reworking after baking. Dried items were baked in the kilns as were the bricks. The temperature and degree of baking was different in various parts of the

kiln. On analysis the temperature of baking ceramics has been determined to be 8507-1 200?C, usually 9007-1000? C.

Red under-baked tiles are often seen, while one rarely finds over-baked or

charred tiles. The widely varying shades are evidence of the uneven temperatures in kilns, which meant that non-glazed items, especially facing brick and tiles, had to

be painted after baking with ochre paint to give a building a uniform colour. There are traces of red and yellow paint on carved terracotta. After baking, the reworking

was done, probably on-site. Unglazed tiles were prepared from burnt bricks and fortified by making an incision in two parts, a crude rumpa podteska, and polishing the surface. The facing side of facing brick was polished, and parts of the sides were lightly polished.

Glazed items were reworked after the second and final baking: they were

trimmed and polished on the sides to make the facing side the necessary size. Earlier prepared glaze was ground into a powder to prepare the shliker, and dissolved in water to the consistency of cream. If the surface was covered in a glaze

42

N.S. Grazhdankina

of one colour, it was simply dipped in shliker and dried. When the glaze cover was applied to only part of the item or when various coloured glazes were used at once, the shliker was applied by brush.

Carved glazed ceramics with epigraphic ornaments were mostly painted in two colours to highlight the letters. The method of glaze production was as follows: to produce white letters on a blue or light blue background, the carving with the

lower relief was covered with shliker last with the corresponding colour using a brush, trying to avoid covering the surface of the letters of the higher relief.

After absorbing the moisture, white shliker was painted on the letters of the

higher relief. The surface of the ceramics with short one-plan relief was covered completely with shliker, used for covering the deeper part of the relief, while the

shliker of the second colour was applied by brush on top of the first, also after

absorbing moisture.

In the Shakhi-Zinda digs in 1961, a fragment of carved ce¬

ramic with a thin, possibly printed relief was found. Ceramics were first covered by light blue glaze, then the contours of the relief were outlined with red lines, blue

glaze was poured in the deeper part, and then after baking the relief was covered in gold foil. The facing surface of the majolica was polished on a stone after the first

utility baking. Sometimes the sides were tapped along the contour of the lower edge for better adhesion with the paste.

The prepared surface tiles were dipped in glaze shliker forming the back¬ ground of the painting. Usually two colours were used: white or blue. After the ex¬ cess moisture from the shliker was absorbed by the ceramic, black paint was used

to outline the drawing and the under-glaze painting was done. Often on a white background the parts of the drawing which were to remain white or be covered by

gilding were left open, while the rest of the surface was covered with blue glaze or the painting was done in green, light blue, salad green, violet or black colours.

Red was occasionally used to cover fine details or for drawing contours, usually where sheets of gold foil were to be attached.

The second glazing baking was usually done at a lower temperature than the first, depending on the content and plasticity of the glaze. Lead glaze melts at 720 C, so the second glazing baking required this temperature, while the basic

baking required a temperature of 900-950 C. After cooling, the gilding was done. Pure gold was spread in a fine foil, and sheets were attached to the prepared places.

Chapter II.

43

When hot gilding was used, the ceramic was lightly baked (similar to the modern muffling) at a temperature of 500-600 C. The glaze softens and the gold is ab¬ sorbed into it. The cold method requires gluing the gold foil using organic glues of a complex content. The hot method is more durable.

The last stage of the process is polishing and trimming to make the ceramic the exact size. The basic material for glaze (40-60%) is quartz (Si02). There are

quartz mines in Uzbekistan which are still in use for preparing glass. The best known is Chupan-ata near Samarkand, Maisk near Tashkent and Darbazinsk near Darbaz station.

M. K. Rakhimov says that the Kaidaronsk and Lakkonsk sites in the Fergana

province1 were also important. The best sand is found in Maisk and Chupan-atinsk. Darbaz sand contains impurities. Apart from quartz sand, quartzites can be used to produce glaze. They are also widely available in Uzbekistan. Quartzites are found

in Chupan-ata, and often contain iron. They are also found in Ziaddin, Almalyk and Aktash (near Tashkent). The second main component of glaze is alkali. This is produced from ashes of plants found in the desert and steppe zones. Their ashes

contain up to 50% alkali, primarily sodium. Magnesium, calcium, amorphous sili¬ cate and even gypsum are used in small quantities.

Some amount of plastic clay is added, improving the quality of glaze shliker and making it compatible with the shard, as are limestone and dolomite for increas¬

ing plasticity. To make the glaze less shiny, which is necessary when applying it to a red-brown clay foundation, tin (stannic oxide) is mixed into the glaze; to give the glazed surface a bright shine and allow baking at a lower temperature, lead is

added. Lead glazes melt at 700? C. Besides lowering the temperature of baking, lead gives the ceramic colour a special clarity.

White glaze is made from a mix of the following components: for colour

glazes, mineral dyes are used (copper oxides for light blue, manganese for cherrybrown). Copper ores are mined in Uzbekistan, Armenia, and Kazakhstan. In the 9th-10th centuries, copper was mined in the Kara-Mazar mountains near Almalyk,

1 M.K. Rakhimov. Artistic ceramics of Uzbekistan. Tashkent, PH of the Uzbek SSR Acad¬

emy of Science, 1961, p.34.

44

N.S. Grazhdankina

in llak2 (Akhangaran river and Chirchik), Fergana and the Chu river valley3. Managanese was mined in the Chatkal mountains and near Chupan-ata near Samarkand. Lead-silver mines existed near llak and the western Tian Shan foot¬

hills. Lead and copper were mined in the Kani-Gut mine on the north slope of the Turkestan range4 and in the Fergana province5. Tin was mined till the end of the 12th century in the Zerabulak-Ziaddin mountains6.

Materials for the glaze were sorted, ground, measured out, mixed and again

ground. The alkali and quartz were melted together first, then tin, lead and colour were added. The ready glaze was carefully ground and mixed in water to produce the shliker. During the 1 1 th-1 2th centuries, lead-sodium-tin-silicate glaze, or in other words, alkali-lead-tin was used.

Samarkand glazes, used for covering certain details of ornaments of carved terracotta and majolica tiles, were coloured with copper oxide for a light blue colour. The presence of iron was not a special addition but present in the ore, giving the

glaze a light green shade. Cherry colour glazes were made with manganese at that time; white ones had no dye added. Bukhara glazes of the 12th century were simi¬

lar, only one glaze from the belt of the figure on the Kalian minaret differs from the Samarkand glazes by a high lead content and a low alkali content.

The light blue belt on the column of the Sultan-Saadat mausoleum in old Termez and the bantik on the portal belongs to the low-lead alkali-tin formula. Early

glazes in Shakhrisabz and old Merv are similar to the Samarkand ones. Almost all early glazes differ from later ones in their excellent quality, beautiful shine, and

glassy, even, well-baked mass. The intermediate layer between the foundation and the glaze is not clear and consists of a thickness of less than 0.1 of the thickness of the glaze layer. The layer of the glaze is not stable and for different items, changes

2 llak - the llak district of Maverannakhr included almost the entire valley of the Akhangaran

River and a part of the left bank of the Chirchik River. The History of the Peoples of Uzbekistan. Vol. I, Tashkent, Publishing House of the UzSSR Academy of Science, 1950, p. 225. 3 O.I. Islamov. The origin of the geological knowledge in Central Asia. Essays on the history

of geological studies on Central Asia. Tashkent, Publishing House of the UzSSR Academy of Science, 1956, pp.39-40.

4 Ibid. p. 39.

5 M.Ye. Masson. The background of the mining art on the territory of Uzbekistan. Tashkent, 1953, p. 17.

6 O.I. Islamov. The origin of the geological knowledge in Central Asia, p. 40.

Chapter II.

45

in the range of 0.1-2 mm. In deep reliefs, glazes are up to 4 mm thick. The hardness on the Moos scale is class 7 (quartz), with the exception of one Afrosiab light blue

glaze, having a hardness of 6 microklin (microquoins). A hardness of 7 (maximum for quartz glazes) attests to the high quality of early glazes. The melt temperature of early glazes was 700-710 C.

Glazes for carved ceramics and tiles in the 14th century were opaque and

mostly had a good shine. Their surface was covered in a network of hair-like fissures.The hardness of the glaze on the Moos scale was class 67. Using spectral analysis, these glazes are found to relate to the same type as the early alkali-leadtin glazes. The melt temperature was 700-850 C. Light blue glaze used copper, cherry (manganese), blue (cobalt) and copper. A faded shade resulted from mixing a damper (tin and lime). White glaze and its shades (pink or yellow) depended on the natural impurities in the raw material (iron, manganese). Different coloured glazes

on majolica in the 14th-15th centuries were mostly opaque due to the introduction of a damping agent. Only blue glaze on a white foundation was transparent. This

glaze was a dark shade, and remained transparent even on tiles without masking the natural colour on the foundation, while the bright glazes were carefully made duller.

Dyes for blue and light blue glazes were the same as for carved ceramics. To obtain yellow iron was used and for cherry and black, manganese. Iron with an admixture of aluminium oxides gives a red-brown tone. Sometimes, yellow is

achieved by chrome

combined with iron. Local dyes used malg'ash (ore contain¬

ing iron and chromium oxides). To produce red, ferriferous ochre was used, easily obtainable in the mountains of Uzbekistan. Green combines iron and copper. Salad

green was achieved with a two-layer cover of light blue and yellow glaze. The same technique was used in Khorezm and by the Golden Horde. The baking temperature is the same as for carved ceramics, but the over-glaze colour was baked at a lower

temperature (700C). The hardness is class 6 on the Moos scale. Preserving their high blue cobalt glazes through the centuries changes the colour to dirty-yellow or brown. Clay ceramics differ in their longevity. Under-baking results in deterioration from frost if they are in the open air, and from salts if the level of the ground water

is high. The physical-mechanical indicators of under-glazing of clay facing ceramics is proof of their high quality, as shown in the table. 7 The mineralogical hardness scale includes 1 0 minerals. Hardness is established by scratch¬

ing of the glaze with minerals. The hardness class determines the mineral which produces a scratch mark on the glaze.

N.S. Grazhdankina

46

Physical-mechanical indicators of under-glazing of clay facing ceramics: Ceramic

Specific

Water

Strength

Strength

Reducti

ng

gravity

conten

when

when

on

temp

(g/cm3)

t (%)

dry

wet

strength

era-

compres

compres

from

ture

sed

sed

wetness

(kg/cm3)

(kg/cm3)

(%)

210-245

110-181

19-21

106-240

84-226

4.6-31

95-260

92-253

2.7-28.6

325-452

318-445

1.5-2.2

117-169

65-160

5.4-44.5

211-438

155-279

23.3-

Baki

Contents

(°C)

Details of 1st

800-

century

900

Loess with adobe

1.41-

23.3-

1.47

26.0

of

decoration

Facing brick

800-

10th- 13 th

950

Loess with adobe

1.46-

22.1-

1.64

26.0

century Carved

750-

Loess cleaned of

1.39-

27.50-

terracotta

1000

large impur-ities; in

1.55

31.83

12,h-13'h

fine carved tiles

century

hair, wool or reed fluff

Carved

900-

ceramics with

950

Ditto

1.62-

12.10-

1.92

15.92

1.45-

28.40-

1.46

31.33

partial glazed ornaments

12th- 13th century Glazed

900-

majolica 12th-

1000

13

Loess

century

Carved glazed

850-

Loess cleaned of

1.34-

12.44-

ceramics

950

large impurities; in

1.53

25.70

1.34-

21.1-

1.70

26.8

1.30-

22.8-

1.58

394

14th century

49.8

fine carved tiles

hair, wool or reed fluff

Majolica clay

on

ceramic

850-

Loess

1000

119-582

87-193

26.8851.3

foundation

14th century 14"1 century

850-

tiles

950

Majolica

on

faience

Loess

950-

Quartzite, clay and

1200

lime

950-

Quartzite, clay and

1.50-

20.50-

1150

lime

1.58

30.10

900-

Loess

22-77

17-46

2.6441.3

foundation

14,h century Majolica

on

faience

82-165

15-124

8.5-25.0

122-340

111-300

9.0-23.2

88-307

71-232

8.0-31.5

foundation

14th century Majolica clay

on

ceramic

950

1.55-

16.25-

1.70

27.67

1.38-

20.46-

1.63

28.90

foundation

15th century 15 th century

800-

tiles

950

Loess

47

Chapter II.

Majolica

on

Quartzite, clay and

1.44-

6.00-

lime

1.68

23.6

950-

Quartzite, clay and

1.59-

19.18-

1150

lime

1.75

38.0

900-

Quartzite, clay and

1.60-

16.3-

1100

lime

1.83

26.5

900-

Quartzite, clay and

ÍDO¬

17.0-

1100

lime

LOS

59.0

900-

Quartz sand, clay

1.61-

11.40-

1100

and lime

1.88

20.6

900-

Loess

1.43-

21.17-

1.67

22.30

1000

faience

48-135

27-128

63-238

52-347

5.2-43.7

1100

foundation

15th century Majolica

on

faience

17.0-

47.6

foundation

15 th century Majolica

on

faience

53-130

34-101

12.2-73

43-174

22-120

29.2-

foundation

16th century Majolica

on

faience

48.9

foundation

16th century Tiles

on

faience

29-155

18-100

70-155

60-91

10.10-38

foundation

16th century Tiles

on

clay

1100

ceramic

16.035.8

foundation

17th century Mosaic

on

faience

950-

Quartzite, clay and

1.45-

21.3-

1150

lime

1.47

25.1

14.5-

102-223

41.00

foundation

17th century Majolica

clay

on

ceramic

850-

Loess, sometimes

1.67-

13.89-

950

with added sand

2.04

22.3

18-92

17-92

foundation

1 9th century Majolica on

See "Experience of

faience foun¬

Samarkand ceramic

dation by

masters"

0.0-41.2

Samarkand master in 1961 for rest¬

oring portal of Shirdor Medressah

Materials of earlier ceramic decoration and architectural terracotta, like the glazed

majolica of the 9th to 12th centuries, in most cases exceed the demands of contem¬

porary bricks of mark 100 and 150. Ceramics of the 12th and 13th centuries with partial glazing benefited from the innovations and are very durable and do not dete¬ riorate even when exposed to water and frost.14th century carved ceramics, as

with majolica on clay ceramic foundation, are noted for their durability and excellent features, though they are surpassed by earlier partial glazed ceramics.The 15th

48

N.S. Grazhdankina

century produced outstanding examples of majolica and tiles on a clay ceramics

foundation. Glazes on this majolica are the same as 14th century ones. White and light blue glazes, yellow, red and salad green ceramic colours are opaque as a result of the dulling effect of tin and lime.

Blue glaze is always transparent except when over-baked and mixed with

a dull white under-layer. Clay ceramics in the 17th century had a high durability. The glazes and ceramic colours are as in the previous period. The materials used in

the 18th century have not been tested, but the degree of durability, despite their poorer artistic quality, is high.

19th8 century majolica has average durability indicators but excellent firm mass. Multicoloured Khiva majolica was completely covered with white crystal engobe before the first baking, on top of which ornaments were drawn in black or dark green slow-melting colour. After baking, the cooled tiles were covered with colour.

The foundation was decorated with blue cobalt glaze, using brushes (as the dabs clearly show) creating an uneven colour. The white figured ornament was left open, then the entire tile was covered with clear alkali glaze.

After baking, a clear glaze resulted: sometimes shiny, sometimes dull. All

the glazes of this time, with a few exceptions, were alkali. Lead was added in only small amounts to the raw material or colour. The hardness of the glaze was usually

6. Crosspiece tiles in the form of bantik in the Tash-Khauli (Khiva) were covered by dark green dull glaze with hardness 7, and one example of majolica with glaze

coating has hardness of only 4, clearly a defect. 19th century majolica of the facing of Khudoiar-khana in Kokand has bright colours, a fine shiny glaze, hardness for light lube, white and yellow at 6, and for blue 7. Glazes have lead in their colours.

White parts of ornaments are made with transparent, colourless glaze on white engobe applied roughly. Comparing the indicators of architectural clay ceramic foundations with the indictors of contemporary architectural ceramics

demonstrates that the former had very high durability for facing ceramics. This is

explained by the carefully prepared raw material: better mixing, maintenance, sealing and baking.

8

Physical and mechanical rates of the 19th c. majolica have been determined using a

small number of tests in contrast to materials of the 10th - 16th cc.

Chapter II.

49

CERAMICS ON FAIENCE FOUNDATION

Faience ceramics have a special place in Central Asian architecture. Start¬

ing in the 12th century (Khorezm, Azerbaijan, Iran), it grew in importance until the 16th century. In the 17th century it became secondary to clay ceramics. Features

such as bright tiles with high durability, easy moulding and good fusing with its glaze covering, made faience excellent material for public buildings. Its relatively high

cost as compared with clay ceramics because of the higher temperature of baking and labour intensiveness were not barriers to its wide use, since there were less defective results.

In contemporary classification, faience belongs to soft faience lime material, and the historical faience differs from that used today. Faience consists of quartz, clay and lime. In Samarkand and Shakhrisabz it contains 75-85% quartz and 2515% clay and lime (in half proportions). Faience of this content is also found in

Azerbaijan; Bukhara faience contains more quartz, less lime and clay, and is closer to the high silicate faience of Khorezm9.

The technological process of preparing faience facing details is as follows: quartz ingredients in the form of quartzite in lumps, quartz pebbles or sand contain¬

ing up to 90-95% silicate and small admixtures of calcium, magnesium, iron and clays, are baked in the ceramic kiln or simply on a fire till they crack, then are beaten with hammers into sand and ground to pieces of 0.1-0.3 mm. In some faience,

particles up to 0.5 mm are found, but nothing larger.

The smallest particles are like dust. Lime and fine white clay particles are

dissolved in water, resulting in quartz powder. Depending on the amount of clay

added, a more or less plastic mass is achieved, never achieving the plasticity of

clay mass10. It has a lower formative consistency, which means that forming some sorts of vessels requires pressing the mass on wooden forms, sometimes covered

with cloth. Facing ceramics of faience mass usually are prepared without a form. The forming mass is spread on boards, smoothed out, and cut with a knife as nec-

9

N.S. Grazhdankina Techniques of chemical and technological researches into ancient

ceramics. Archeology and Science. M., Publishing House of the

USSR Academy of Sci¬

ence, 1965, pp.1 59-1 60.

10

N.S. Grazhdankina. Techniques of chemical and technological researches into ancient

ceramics, p. 158.

50

N.S. Grazhdankina

essary. Drying does not present the problem of clay drying, thanks to the hard quartz. Thus with faience there are never traces of organic impurities. It requires double

baking: first, a utility baking at 1000-1200 C, then the glaze baking at lower tem¬ peratures depending on the melting point of the glaze.

Faience usually bakes yellow or white; pink and red indicate the tempera¬ ture was too low. In the 14th-15th centuries pink faience was rare, in the 16th-17th

centuries it was common. The durability of the faience depends not only on the

temperature of baking, but on the density of the mass. Porous material of up to 45% moisture does not allow complete baking of its mass, as it sticks to the glass-like

melt only where it touches it directly. This makes for brittle faience, which is easily cut with a knife. Thanks to this, from the early 1 4th century, faience was widely used as mosaic.

1 4th century faience belongs to the low-durability material section (see table) and is very different from the earlier faience (12th-13th centuries) of Khorezm and

Persia, whose durability when compressed achieved almost 300 kg/cm11 (N.S.Grazhdankina: Methodology of chemical-technological research of ancient ceramics, p 1 58). The durability of 1 5th century faience varied, though it was some¬ times quite high.

This was also the case with later faience. In some cases, the

density of the formed mass was not high. Very porous material, when well fired, was

easily cut. Thus the higher indicators of durability belong to early faience, from which majolica was made, while the lower indicators belong to later (14th century onwards) types used for mosaic.

The link between the faience foundation and its glaze cover was mostly

good. Sometimes the glaze comes off because the glaze on the faience is under pressure limiting the ability to form hairline cracks and therefore flaking occurs. Side pressing of pieces of mosaic together does not help, as the back of the touch¬ ing surfaces have a wedged form.

Glaze that is well attached to its faience foundation results from rather po¬

rous material, guaranteeing the formation of a strong intermediary layer which soft¬ ens the difference between the coefficients of expansion of glaze and foundation.

11

N.S. Grazhdankina. Techniques of chemical and technological researches into ancient

ceramics. P. 158, Table 2.

Chapter II.

51

These coefficients differ less than in clay ceramics. Glazes covering faience are divided into transparent alkali-lead, or simply alkali, and opaque alkali-lead-tin, closer to glaze on clay ceramics. Most often in the 14th-15th centuries white and light blue

glazes are opaque on the drum of the Shirin-beka-aka mausoleum, forming a back¬ ground for mosaic ornament. In the 17th and even 1 6th century white glaze is formed from pure white quartz engobe under lead glass-like glaze. Blue, green, manga¬ nese-black and various yellow glazes are transparent.

Widespread dulling of white glaze in the 14th and 15th centuries is due to the lack of white dye. Transparent glass-like lead glaze showed all the defects of the foundation with unusual clarity; though very bright, it still came in various shades of yellow, pink and earth tones. Introducing tin into the glaze allowed an even white

tone without reducing the shine. Dulling light blue glazes allowed the defects in the foundation to be concealed and the overall effect of a one-colour glaze for the build¬ ing to be preserved. Light blue glaze, as well as its use in mosaics, was used for tiles covering cupolas. When blue tiles were made, the glaze was transparent, as with mosaics. Dark colours covered defects in the foundation. This confirms that

production of high quality transparent glazes for ordinary ceramics was possible by the 12th century.

In the 14th century cups and plates with black under-glaze painting with light blue transparent glaze became popular. We see this in architectural ceramics only with blue transparent glaze on faience tiles in the portal of the Khadja-Akhmad mausoleum in Shakhrisabz (14th century).

Glazes on faience usually have hardness 7, sometimes 6, with the excep¬ tion of pure lead glazes, with hardness of only 5. The realisation that faience could

easily be cut gave new impetus to mosaic facing throughout the Middle East. Mo¬

saic was well known already12 but using a clay ceramic foundation, which meant that only large details and crude paint was possible. With the appearance of faience, it was possible to cut fine details, with thickness of only 2-3 mm. Cutting such ele¬ ments demanded brittle, porous material. This explains the decline in faience dura¬

bility with the development of carved ceramic mosaic (14th-18th centuries) in com¬ parison with earlier majolica on faience foundation.

12 Barda - a mausoleum built in 1322; in some places it has mosaic facing.

52

N.S. Grazhdankina

to faiences used in Uzbekistan, was completely different in the texture of shard, unusually dense and fine-grained, with high indicators. However once transferred to local soil, the faience was processed for local demands and using local materi¬ als.

Local masters achieved fine results in architectural details from faience and

mastered the complexity of its production so well that it was widely used in 16th century construction and all kinds of ceramic facing were made exclusively from

faience. The shiny transparent glazes highlighted the gilded details and blue and

green ones. Such a glaze was possible only on faience, thus it replaced majolica and carved mosaic, which were more labour intensive, perhaps more artistic, though less bright and shiny. We can compare all types of ceramic facing, but it is almost impossible to determine the best of them, since each type has its advantages both artistically and in production.

With modern science we can marvel at the mastery of the past and

try to

reproduce it. It was found that the temperature of baking and melting of glazes

came within a fairly narrow range of temperatures, showing the great accuracy of old masters. The number of defects was small. Usually they were not discarded, but were used where they would not be noticed. The great care taken by old masters at

each step in the creation of complex decorative coverings of buildings is clear.

Chapter II.

Architectural ornament.

Pakhlavan Makhmud mausoleum, Khiva.

53

Chapter III.

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