Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

**Cimon** · 06-29-2009, 15:51

Hi all.

This past weekend, I went the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The reason for my visit there is that the Met recently opened an exhibit displaying artifacts from Afghanistan. First, a little background on the exhibit for those who may not be aware. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the staff at the Kabul Museum, fearing that the artifacts would be looted, locked the pieces in hidden vaults in the basement of the Museum. For the next 25 years, the collection was believed to lost, looted or melted down by either the Soviets or (later) the Taliban. In 2004, following the ouster of the Taliban, the few staff members who had knowledge of the collection's whereabouts revealed that the artifacts had not been lost, and were merely hidden away. The vaults were opened to much fanfare, and Afghanistan regained (at least part) of its history.

The exhibit showcases items from four different cities/locations from four different time periods: 1) Tepe Fullol - a bronze age civilization (referred to as the Oxus civilization) circa 2200 BC, 2) Ai Khanum - a Persian outpost resettled by Alexander the Great (possibly Alexandria on the Oxus) and sacked by nomads in 145BC, 3) Begram - thought to be either the former Alexandria ad Caucausm that became the capital of the Kushan dynasty, or a trading post on the Silk Road, and 4) Tillya Tepe ("hill of gold") - the site of a number of nomadic graves that contained numerous gold objects.

Despite it not being an enormous exhibit, I couldn't possibly list everything there, or describe the quality of the artifacts. Suffice it to say, I recommend that anyone that has a chance to make it to the exhibit do so. You won't be disappointed.

For more information and some images of the pieces in the collection, click here.

**ARCHIPPOS** · 06-29-2009, 17:06

great stuff very interesting thread... thanx for posting this

**Reality=Chaos** · 06-29-2009, 19:43

Originally Posted by ARCHIPPOS

great stuff very interesting thread... thanx for posting this

I second that

**Ibrahim** · 06-30-2009, 03:18

Originally Posted by Cimon

Hi all.

This past weekend, I went the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The reason for my visit there is that the Met recently opened an exhibit displaying artifacts from Afghanistan. First, a little background on the exhibit for those who may not be aware. When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the staff at the Kabul Museum, fearing that the artifacts would be looted, locked the pieces in hidden vaults in the basement of the Museum. For the next 25 years, the collection was believed to lost, looted or melted down by either the Soviets or (later) the Taliban. In 2004, following the ouster of the Taliban, the few staff members who had knowledge of the collection's whereabouts revealed that the artifacts had not been lost, and were merely hidden away. The vaults were opened to much fanfare, and Afghanistan regained (at least part) of its history.

The exhibit showcases items from four different cities/locations from four different time periods: 1) Tepe Fullol - a bronze age civilization (referred to as the Oxus civilization) circa 2200 BC, 2) Ai Khanum - a Persian outpost resettled by Alexander the Great (possibly Alexandria on the Oxus) and sacked by nomads in 145BC, 3) Begram - thought to be either the former Alexandria ad Caucausm that became the capital of the Kushan dynasty, or a trading post on the Silk Road, and 4) Tillya Tepe ("hill of gold") - the site of a number of nomadic graves that contained numerous gold objects.

Despite it not being an enormous exhibit, I couldn't possibly list everything there, or describe the quality of the artifacts. Suffice it to say, I recommend that anyone that has a chance to make it to the exhibit do so. You won't be disappointed.

For more information and some images of the pieces in the collection, click here.

I remember that! It was in the natural museum of Houston!

I bet you saw the glass plates that have the swirly pattern

and all that gold..somuch gold..especially the oldest woman in the tillya tep-did you see that collapsable crown? tha was pretty and golden

**Cimon** · 06-30-2009, 12:36

Originally Posted by Ibrahim

I remember that! It was in the natural museum of Houston!

I bet you saw the glass plates that have the swirly pattern

and all that gold..somuch gold..especially the oldest woman in the tillya tep-did you see that collapsable crown? tha was pretty and golden

Yes, the folding gold crown was very impressive. I was particularly taken with the Roman and Egyptian glass and Indian ivories, however. I always knew it conceptually, but seeing items like these from such disparate places really brought home the Central Asian trade routes.

Don't know if you remember, Ibrahim, but from an archaeological discovery perspective, I was quite impressed that the two rooms at Begram (known as Rooms 10 and 13) had remained sealed from antiquity until the 20th century. It was amazing that they hadn't been opened in all that time, and that the tresures remained within.

**Olaf The Great** · 06-30-2009, 21:31

Why exactly did one of the richest areas in the world turn into one of the poorest?

**Watchman** · 06-30-2009, 22:08

Pretty sure the Afghanistan highlands were never terribly prosperous to begin with, that was more a thing of the fertile valleys to the north and west of them - along which the cross-continental trade routes mainly ran. And when that trade withered...

**Cimon** · 06-30-2009, 22:17

Was just going to post the same thing Watchman. The Central Asian lands didn't really ever produce all that many products of their own (at least compared to other areas). Sure, there were lots of horses and livestock, but other than that, there wasn't much to export. Rather, the wealth in Central Asia came from the trade routes that flowed through, bringing with it Chinese silks and porcelain, ivory from India, Persian luxury goods, and even importas from as far away as Egypt and Rome. Of course, principles of profit demand that the farther away the product moved from its point of origin, the higher the end-point selling price had to be in order to cover the costs of transportation. As a piece of Egyptian glass, for example, changed hands multiple times while flowing from the Nile through Central Asia, the cost kept increasing, and likewise the taxes on the good. That's where the Central Asian wealth derived.

Once the trade routes shifted away from Central Asia (and, indeed, eventually away from a land route altogether), that tax income completely disappeared. It's no wonder that the trade routes moved; think how much farther a ship can travel in a day on even a rough (but non-storm tossed) ocean compared to how far a caravan can move on a dirt road running over rough terrain (indeed, if there's even a road at all).

This is admittedly a somewhat simplistic view, as other factors were no doubt involved as well, but I think it plays a very heavy part in the decline of the region.

**socal_infidel** · 06-30-2009, 22:31

This is a fantastic exhibit. Had the chance to see it last summer of the National Gallery of Art in D.C. Hadn't realized it had moved on to the Met. Since I'm in New York, I'll likely check it out again since I've been meaning to make it back to the Met soon. Thanks for posting this.

**Yarema** · 07-02-2009, 14:18

Very nice post! I don't exactly know what r the rules about giving baloons but i think you earned it fairly, so here's one for ya, Cimon!

**MButcher** · 07-02-2009, 14:39

I saw the exhibit in San Francisco, it's definitely worth seeing.

Small word of advice - Don't take the organized tour, go alone. Then you don't have to deal with all the annoying people.