Imamzada Yahya

Originally part of a larger shrine complex including an octagonal tomb tower and entrance portal, the remaining naked tomb shrine is victim of over one hundred years of looting. Jane Dieulafoy documented her visit there in 1881; the luster tiles and faience mihrab that she described no longer decorate the walls but may be those identified in several private collections.The external mass of the shrine is a square, surrounded by lower, vaulted rooms that were added at a later date. The stepped dome is reached by an octagonal mass. This form protrudes from the interior, which is octagonal with deep, angled niches built into four of the sides. Above the bare dado that once held luster tilework, there remains a plaster inscription frieze and areas of carved plaster decoration. The squinches are filled with carved plaster muqarnas. Sources:Dieulafoy, Jane, La Perse, la Chaldée et la Susiane (Paris: Hachette, 1887).Donald N. Wilber, The Architecture of Islamic Iran, (New York: Greenwood Press, 1969).