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APAAM JOINS MR. HESHAM ISLAM AND DoD PERSONNEL
As Guest of His Excellency ABDULAZIZ KAMILOV for Ramadan IFTAR
At the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan
We would like to thank Mr. Hesham Islam, Special Assistant for International
Affairs, for Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England for his support and
hard-work in making this event possible.
“People coming together is what enables countries to come together”.
Hesham Islam
Historical Background
of the Building - http://www.uzbekistan.org/
Built in 1906 and completed in 1909,
this structure was designed in the Louis XV manner by French architect Jules
Henri de Sibour (1872-1938), and was one of the largest and most costly on the
avenue. The interior is a combination of 16th, 17th, and 18th century French and
English detail. The simple, logical progression of interior spaces and the
sequence of their stylistic changes reveal a quality in both design and
craftsmanship. Special attention is drawn to the particularly fine woodcarving,
plaster and iron work, and the remarkable hardware and lighting fixtures
throughout.
The building served as a private residence from the time it was built until
1927, when it was then purchased by the Canadian government and used as
legation, chancery, and embassy. The government of the Republic of Uzbekistan
purchased the building to serve as their embassy in the summer of 1996.
The original owner was Clarence Moore, an associate of the successful W.B. Hibbs
and Company, one of Washington's top banking and brokerage firms. He was a noted
horseman, and held the position of Master of the Hounds at the exclusive Chevy
Chase Club. To his fatal misfortune, Moore booked a return trip from England
aboard the Titanic, and sank to his death in 1912.
He was survived by his wife Mabelle Moore, who remarried three years later to
Aksel Wichfeld, a Dane who engaged in banking and the operation of taxicab
companies before being appointed an attach? of the Danish Legion in 1916.
As one of four Wichfeld estates, the Washington residence, as quoted by a 1927
edition of the Sunday Star, was "the scene of many fashionable gatherings of
diplomatic and social circles". In April of that same year, the Wichfelds sold
the building to the Canadians.
In 1996, the building was sold to the Republic of Uzbekistan. Since its
purchase, the Embassy has undergone some interior changes. Uzbek decor has been
added to personalize the building and to display to its visitors the rich
tradition of such Central Asian arts as woodcarving, silk weaving, glass
staining, and painting.
Description of Interiors
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Entrance Hall: |
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The east and west walls are divided into three bays of raised panels
flanked by opposed double door bays, each bay separated by fluted
pilasters on plinths having limestone composite capitals. For the
ceiling, wood beams frame cavetto and talon coffers centered with
dropped pattera. |
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Library: |
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Built in the Tudor manner, this handsome room has wooden floors in a
basket weave pattern. Built-in bookshelves have oak leaf roll
architraves, and the deep brass rim locks have lion mask escutcheons and
fleur-de-lis panels with an acanthus "barbell" doorknob. |
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Dining Room: |
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This room was created in the manner of Belton House dining rooms in
Grantham, England, designed by William Stanton in 1685, with carvings
attributed to Grinling Gibbons. The floor is herringbone parquetry. The
walls are raised panels of burled walnut in a cyma molding. At the room
corners, over the west doors and flanking the door to the hall are high
relief woodcarvings. The ceiling is 15 feet high, with a tobacco leaf
pulvination, a cove, and a ribbon roll molding in the central panel.
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Drawing Room: |
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This lovely space is the Embassy's actual reception hall. There are
three sets of double doors, one each to the east and west parlors and
central hall, with paired linen fold bottom panels. The over mantle is
divided vertically into three crossette panels, the central section
sculpted to form a round-arched niche with floral spandrels. The
acanthus bolection architrave is capped by a plain pulvinated frieze and
an ovolo, corona and cyma cornice. panel. |
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East Parlor: |
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This room serves for conferences, dinners, and luncheons. The floor is
herringbone parquetry style, with a marble baseboard. Flanking the
mantle are semi-circular-arched shell niches and raised panels over each
arch. The over-mantle panel has a high relief, palm leaf cap draped over
floral cornucopia, and flanked by floral swags terminated by paired
pheasants with floral pendants linked by ribbon and tassel. |
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West Parlor: |
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This room was executed in the late 18th century English manner. The
blue-green walls are divided into three sections of narrow panels,
rosette-indented frames at the center, and plain panels at the top. The
center of the ceiling is an oval sunburst with a laurel surround,
bordered at the cornice by a decorative running dog frieze. Fine Uzbek
plaster carving decorates the mirrored panels. |
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