The Study of the Door Handles of the Khoja Ahmet Yasawi Mausoleum – a Lost Valuable Relic

Abstract

The article deals with the features of manufacture of two door handles of the tomb
room in the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, its development history in a large medieval space
of Islamic culture, study and analysis in the second half of the 19th century and in the 20th century.
The features of the manufacture of two bronze door handles of the tomb room, which were
lost in 1959, as well as their value as a valuable relicare given. The first images of these two
handles, articles about it are dated as of the second half of the 19th century in the works of
A. Geinst in 1860, in the paintings of the artist A. Vereshchagin in the Turkestan Series, in an
article by N.I. Veselovsky in 1884, in an article P.N. Akhmerova 1896. In 1905, A. Gurzhienko,
who took part in the expedition led by N.I. Veselovsky, depicted door handles in full size, which is
comprehensively analyzed in modern studies.
In 1935, A.Y. Yakubovsky in his article at the Congress dedicated to the art and archeology of
Iran, makes it possible to notice that as per the names of Izz ad-din Tadj ad-din Isfahani and the
master who made the door to Gur Emirare coming from the same settlement.
The studies of the architect T.K. Basenov in the 40s of the XX year opened the way for the
study of these handles today.
A special contribution to the detailed study of valuable relics in the mausoleum of Khoja
Ahmed Yasawi, including the bronze handles of the tomb room lost in 1959, was the works of
A.A. Ivanov. The article discusses the meaning and features of the development of bronze handles
in medieval Islamic art.