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Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul

Archaeological masterpieces from the National Museum of Afghanistan were long thought to have been lost during the years of turbulence and war that followed the Soviet invasion of 1979. Instead, most had been secretly hidden in crates in the Central Bank within the presidential palace in Kabul. In 2004 the crates were opened, bringing to light the works of art that had remarkably survived. This exhibition presents highlights from the museums collection and reveals the exotic influences and local artistic traditions that shaped the art of northern Afghanistan, known as Bactria in antiquity.

The works on view span Afghan history from 22OO BC to the second century AD and come from four archaeological sites:

- the Bronze Age site of Tepe Fullol

- the Greco-Bactrian city of Aï Khanum

- the trading settlement of Begram, which flourished in the first and second centuries AD

- the roughly contemporary necropolis of Tillya Tepe, where a nomadic chieftain and members of his household were buried with thousands of gold objects and ornaments, many inlaid with turquoise, lapis lazuli, or other semiprecious stones.

Timeline

 

  • c. 4500 BC: Agricultural settlements appear in the foothills of the Hindu Kush Mountains
  • c. 4000 BC : Lapiz lazuli, gold, and tin are exported to India, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean world.
  • c. 2200 BC: Bronze Age begins in northern Afghanistan
  • c. 2000 BC: gold objects are buried at he site of Tepe Fullol.

 

Fragment of a bowl depicting bearded bulls (gold), Tepe Fullol 2200-1900 B.C.

Part of a burial cache, this bowl was accidentally discovered by farmers in 1966. The design of bearded bulls was influenced by the art of distant Mesopotamia, showing that Afghanistan was part of an extensive trade network as early as the Bronze Age.
Cat. No. 3: Fragment of a bowl depicting bearded bulls (Tepe Fullol), 2200-1900 BC; gold, 14.9 cm (5 7/8) - National Museum of Afghanstan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 3: Fragment of a bowl depicting bearded bulls (Tepe Fullol), 2200-1900 BC; gold, 14.9 cm (5 7/8) - National Museum of Afghanstan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

 

  • 519 BC: Cyrus the Great conquers Afghanistan, which becomes part of the Persian Empire. An inscription recording Cyrus' conquests is the first know use of the name Bactria to denote northern Afghanistan.
  • 334-323 BC: Alexander the Great conquers the Persan empire, reaching Afghanistan around 328 BC. Balkh, the capital of Bactria, is governed by Alexander's successors.
  • c. 300 BC: Greco-Bactrian city of Aï Khanum is founded by followers of Alexander the Great
Cat. No. 32: Portrait, probably of he Gymnasiarch Strato (Aï Khanum, Gymnasium), 1st half of the 2nd century BC (limestone, 77 cm (30 5 /16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 32: Portrait, probably of he Gymnasiarch Strato (Aï Khanum, Gymnasium), 1st half of the 2nd century BC (limestone, 77 cm (30 5 /16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 23: Ceremonial plaque depicting Cybèle (Aï Khanum, Temple with niches), beginning of the 3rd century BC (gilded silver, diameter: 25 cm (9 13/16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 23: Ceremonial plaque depicting Cybèle (Aï Khanum, Temple with niches), beginning of the 3rd century BC (gilded silver, diameter: 25 cm (9 13/16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

 

  • c. 145 BC: Nomads from the northern steppes overrun Afghanistan. Nomadic chieftain and five women are buried with gold ornaments at Tillya Tepe
  • c. 50 AD: Begram becomes a major settlement along trade routes between China, India and the Mediterranean

Pair of pendants depicting the "Dragon Master", Tillya Tepe, 1st Century B.C. - 1st Century A.D.

These elaborate hair ornaments (gold, turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, garnelian and pearl) depict a man wearing the tunic and flowing pants typical of nomadic dress. He holds two dragon-like creatures by their forelegs, a mythic scene known from ancient Persian and Siberian art that suggests power and invincibility. Most unusually, these pendants are completely finished on both front and back.
Cat. No. 61: Pair of pendants depicting the "Dragon Master" (Tillya Tepe, Tomb II), 1st century BC - 1st century AD (gold, turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, carnelian and pearl, 5.2 x 6.9 x 1.1 cm (2 1/17 x 2 3 /4 x 7/ 16), overall length of 2 pendants: 12.1 cm (4 3/4); disk diameter: 1.2 cm (1 / 2)  - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 61: Pair of pendants depicting the "Dragon Master" (Tillya Tepe, Tomb II), 1st century BC - 1st century AD (gold, turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, carnelian and pearl, 5.2 x 6.9 x 1.1 cm (2 1/17 x 2 3 /4 x 7/ 16), overall length of 2 pendants: 12.1 cm (4 3/4); disk diameter: 1.2 cm (1 / 2) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

Statuette of a woman standing on a makara, Begram, 1st-2nd Centuries A.D.

This statuette once decorated a piece of wooden furniture that turned to dust. The woman may represent the Indian river goddess Ganga, whose mount is the mythological makara, a creature that is part crocodile, part elephant, and part fish.
Cat. No. 148: Statuette of a woman standing on a makara, possibly a furniture ornament (Begram, Room 10), 1st-2nd centuries AD (ivory, 45.6 cm (17 15/16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 148: Statuette of a woman standing on a makara, possibly a furniture ornament (Begram, Room 10), 1st-2nd centuries AD (ivory, 45.6 cm (17 15/16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

 

  • c. 375 AD: Monumental Buddhist sculptures begin to be carved at Bamiyan
  • c. 850 AD: Arrival of Islam
  • 1220: Gengis Khan destroys Balkh
Cat. No. 164: Fish-shaped flask (Begram, Room 10), 1st-2nd centuries AD (glass, 8.7 x 10.7 x 20 cm (3 7/16 x 4 3/ 16 x 4 3/ 16 x 7 7/8)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 164: Fish-shaped flask (Begram, Room 10), 1st-2nd centuries AD (glass, 8.7 x 10.7 x 20 cm (3 7/16 x 4 3/ 16 x 4 3/ 16 x 7 7/8)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

 

  • 1936-39: Begram is excavated by French archaeologists
Begram 1939, excavations of Room 13 - National Museum of Afghanistan © Musée Guimet/DAFA
Begram 1939, excavations of Room 13 - National Museum of Afghanistan © Musée Guimet/DAFA

 

  • 1965-78: Aï Khanum is excavated by French archaeologists
  • 1978-79: Burials at Tillya Tepe are excavated by a Soviet-Afghan team of archaeologists
  • 1979: The Soviets invade Afghanistan; scientific excavations there end
  • 1988: Masterpieces from the National Museum hidden in the Central Bank at he presidential palace in Kabul

 

Cat. No. 24: Corinthian capital (Aï Khanum), before 145 BC (limestone, 81.5 x 81 x 74 cm (32 1/ 16 x 31 7/ 8 x 29 1/ 8)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 24: Corinthian capital (Aï Khanum), before 145 BC (limestone, 81.5 x 81 x 74 cm (32 1/ 16 x 31 7/ 8 x 29 1/ 8)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

Crown, Tillya Tepe (gold) 1st Century BC - 1st Century AD

This crown was found in the tomb of a high-ranking nomadic woman. The base is formed by a diadem decorated with flowers, once inlaid with turquoise centers. The five tall "trees" are inserted into small gold tubes soldered tothe inside of he diadem, a system that allowed the crown to be dismantled and easily transported. Golden birds appear in the upper branches of four of he five trees, which represent the Tree of Life.
Cat. No. 134: Crown (Tillya Tepe, Tomb VI), 1st century BC - 1st century AD (gold and imitation turquoise, h x l: 12.7 x 47.2 cm (5 x 18 9/ 16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet
Cat. No. 134: Crown (Tillya Tepe, Tomb VI), 1st century BC - 1st century AD (gold and imitation turquoise, h x l: 12.7 x 47.2 cm (5 x 18 9/ 16)) - National Museum of Afghanistan © Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet

 

  • 1992-95: National Museum is looted and destroyed during years of civil war
  • 1996: Taliban take control of Afghanistan
  • 2001: Bamiyan sculptures are destroyed by the Taliban, who are overthrown months later
  • 2004: Crates in he Central Bank of the presidential palace vaults are opened, revealing the works of art from the museum intact
Minister of Information and Culture Sayeed Makhdoom Raheen (center) turns to Viktor Sarianidi (left, front) as the inventory team opens the first safe of Bactrian gold in the presidential bank vault, Kabul 2004 - © Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic Society
Minister of Information and Culture Sayeed Makhdoom Raheen (center) turns to Viktor Sarianidi (left, front) as the inventory team opens the first safe of Bactrian gold in the presidential bank vault, Kabul 2004 - © Kenneth Garrett, National Geographic Society
Terracotta Buddha statue from the site of Hadda. The statue was photographed at the moment of unwrapping in the presidential palace, Kabul 2004 - © Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic Society
Terracotta Buddha statue from the site of Hadda. The statue was photographed at the moment of unwrapping in the presidential palace, Kabul 2004 - © Fredrik Hiebert, National Geographic Society