This column once formed part of the magnificent decoration of a mausoleum. The mausoleum was built over the grave of a Mongol ruler called Buyanquli Khan. He was assassinated in 1358 and was buried at Fathabad near Bukhara (Uzbekistan).

The domed mausoleum was completely covered with tilework on both the inside and the outside. This column was attached to the wall on one side of the entrance. A simple moulding separates the shaft, which is cylindrical, from the capital, which has two faces set at a right angle to one another. The decorators have covered the ceramic surfaces with dense and quite small-scale decoration. They carved the decoration deeply and precisely and then coloured it with white, turquoise, blue and black glazes.

The main decoration consists of dense patterns of leafy scrollwork. These are framed by bands which are either plain or set with rows of small quatrefoils. The scrollwork on the shaft of the column is overlaid by looser networks of leafy stems, glazed in contrasting colours. On the upper section of the shaft a third level of decoration separates the scrollwork and bands.