S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky: The Splendors of Russia in Natural Color 1905–1916

Exhibition of Šechtl & Voseček Museum of Photography February–May 2006

 

Bukhara

Bukhara has been one of the main centres of Iranian civilization during its history. Its architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Persian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The historic center of Bukhara has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. It contains numerous mosques and madrassas.
 

Въезд во дворец эмира в Старой Бухаре.

Entrance into the Emir's palace in Old Bukhara.


Entrance to the Ark (in Persian, “Citadel”) was constructed in 1741 by the Persian Shah Nodirshah.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21871. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Священный колодезь внутри двора в Богоэддине.

Sacred well in the yard of the madrasah of Bogoeddin. Bukhara.


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21869. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Часовой у дворца и старинные пушки.

Sentry at the palace, and old cannons. Bukhara.


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21872. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Аист (Этюд в Бухаре).

Stork. A study, in the town of Bukhara.


A stork, traditionally a symbol of good luck among the Turkic peoples, sits in her nest at the top of a palace wall in Bukhara in Central Asia.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03956. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Эмир Бухарский.

Emir of Bukhara.


The Emir of Bukhara, Alim Khan (1880 – 1944), poses solemnly for his portrait, taken in 1911 shortly after his accession. As ruler of an autonomous city-state (on the map) in Islamic Central Asia, the Emir presided over the internal affairs of his emirate as absolute monarch, although since the mid -1800s Bukhara had been a vassal state of the Russian Empire. With the establishment of Soviet power in Bukhara in 1920, the Emir fled to Afghanistan where he died in 1944.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03959. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


В загородном дворце Эмира Бухарского.

In the country palace of the Emir of Bukhara.


Like his father, Alim Khan disliked life in the Bukhara capital, and quickly retreated to the Palace of Shirbudun pictured here. In 1913, the emir built a new mansion in the Style Moderne.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21900. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Бухарский чиновник.

An official in Bukhara.


Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04653. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Куш-Бегги (Министр внутренних дел).

Kush-Beggi (Minister of Internal Affairs). Bukhara.


“Kush-Beggi” is not the name of minister of internal affairs. Most likely it comes from “Kushbegi”, the title of the second highest official in Bukhara.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-prokc-21863. Digital color rendering by Jan Hubička based on color composite by Blaise Agüera y Arcas.

Неизвестно. В альбомах нет отпечатка.

Unidentified. No print in the albums.


Five inmates stare out from a zindan, a traditional Central Asian prison—in essence a pit in the earth with a low structure built on top. The guard, with Russian rifle and bayonet, is attired in Russian-style uniform and boots.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-04416. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


Неизвестно. В альбомах нет отпечатка.

Unidentified. No print in the albums.


Two prisoners in shackles. Bukhara.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, , LC-DIG-ppmsc-03969. Digital color rendering by Walter Frankhauser.


All photographs Prokudin-Gorsky took in Bukhara
Search the archive of Prokudin-Gorsky on US Library of Congress