Madrasa Courtyard

Abstract

View of the courtyard of one of the madrasas. For more on these madrasas, see description to B02.067. -MA

Description

Courtyard of one of the madrasas of the Shah Mosque. "The domed sanctuary [of the Shah Mosque] is flanked by rectangular chambers, which are covered by eight domes and serve as winter prayer halls. These halls in turn lead to rectangular courts surrounded by arcades, which serve as madrasas" (Blair and Bloom, 189). This is what Robert Hillenbrand says about these madrasas: "The two madrasas in the Masjid-i-Shah are longitudinally conceived and with their miniature garden courtyards make a delightfully bijou impression. They dispense with iwans and with prayer chambers, presumably because both features were readily at hand in the mosque proper. Instead they exploit the available space to the full for student cells" (Hillenbrand, 234). -MA

References
Blair, Sheila S., and Jonathan M. Bloom. The Art and Architecture of Islam: 1250–1800. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994. ; Hillenbrand, Robert. Islamic Architecture: Form, function and meaning. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
Image Notes

Photograph created 1963. Photograph processed September 1963. Formerly cataloged as B.02.073. Notes written on the slide or index: Masjid-i-Shah.

Identifier B.073
Location Isfahan, Iran
Year 1963
Written Date 1963
Slide Notes Masjid-i-Shah.
Index Notes Masjid-i-Shah
General Location Shah Mosque of Isfahan