RAPAPORT... When one thinks of Afghanistan, the first thing that comes to mind is not gold jewelry or Greco-Roman inspired artwork. Yet, that is exactly what one will find at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul.” Afghanistan is a landlocked country in Asia bordered by Pakistan, Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
It is gut-wrenchingly poor and has been war torn and under the rule of fundamentalist Islamic leaders for the past three decades, putting survival at the forefront of the minds of most of the nation’s people. It is an arid country, with mountainous terrain and a harsh climate. But it is a combination of this environment and the tenacity and independent spirit of the people that has allowed some truly amazing ancient artifacts to survive thousands of years. Now those treasures are part of a traveling exhibition currently on display at the Met.
The BeginningCenturies ago, Afghanistan was centrally located on the Silk Road trading route — a vast web of roads, hostels, seaports and trading posts that linked cities from China to the Eastern Mediterranean. It is thought that people from many countries passed through Afghanistan as they traveled along the Silk Road from approximately 300 B.C. to 200 A.D — as nomadic migrations, invading armies or merchants — passing on pieces of their culture to the locals.
Fast-forward to 1978 when a group of archaeologists were on a dig at Tillya Tepe, which would become known as the Hill of Gold, in the northern region of Afghanistan. The dig yielded the discovery of the tombs of ancient nomads who had been buried undisturbed for 2,000 years. Unearthed were a nomadic chieftain and five women, all in clothing adorned with gold appliqués — used similarly to sequins — and accessorized with swords, crowns and other jewelry. The adornments are a blend of nomadic, Greek, Indian and Chinese imagery. Two of the three rings that were found on one of the women were decorated with the image of Athena, the Greek goddess of war, and she also wore gold and jeweled amulets in the shapes of hands and feet. It is thought that the nomads wore their jewelry while they were alive as a way of carrying their wealth.
Archaeologists were led to one of the six Tillya Tepe tombs by mice, who dropped gold appliqués through their tunnels and above ground, leaving a trail of gold for the scholars to follow. The woman discovered at this site was particularly well appointed: Her head rested on a gold plate and her shoes were cut from a gold sheet. She wore gold clasps as well as rings and amulets. A coin of the Roman Emperor Tiberius was also found with her, allowing archaeologists to date the site.
The chieftain was also found buried in clothing with thousands of gold appliqués. Gold buckles inlaid with turquoise survived from his boots. He also wore a cameo on a neck chain and a belt with nine medallions, along with a sword and daggers, indicating that he was a powerful figure in his nomadic community. While archaeologists are unsure where the gold came from, it is believed that the turquoise came from neighboring Iran.
Heroic DeedsAll of these treasures, along with architecture, glass, ivory and bronze, were thought to have been lost when Afghanistan fell into war with Russia shortly after the discovery was made. The treasures, which had all been housed in the Afghan National Museum in the country’s capitol of Kabul, disappeared. Then, in 2004, it was revealed that the collection had been in a vault in the Presidential Palace in Kabul, hidden by a group of Afghans who had stashed the treasures and other artifacts to protect them from the war and the rule of the Taliban — notorious for destroying anything that was not Islamic in nature. These 20 or so heroes, or “key holders,” as they were later known, kept the treasures secret and safe through 25 years of war and turmoil.
The exhibit has toured through the U. S. for the past three years and is made possible in part by Raymond and Beverly Sackler and the National Endowment for the Arts. It was organized by the National Geographic Society and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - August 2009. To subscribe click here.