Astonishing awesome and spectacular treasures of Afghanistan
Glistening Treasures in the Dust – Ancient Artefacts of Afghanistan
Crown, Tillya Tepe, AD25-50, Gold and turquoise: This collapsible Crown is a stylised Tree of Life complete with birds and flowers. Tree of Life motifs were not a common theme with the Greeks, but they were popular with nomads. Similar crowns have been uncovered in Kazakhstan (late fourth century BC), Russia (First century AD) and Korea (Fifth and Sixth century AD).
Historic and priceless Afghanistan treasures
Glistening Treasures in the Dust – Ancient Artefacts of Afghanistan at the Hong Kong Museum of History, tells a historic and heroic story of people risking death to rescue their priceless cultural heritage.
Glass fish, Begram, First century AD: The Glass fish was likely made for essence oil or ointment and produced from blown glass but with the fins drawn out from glass strips. This technique was not common with Roman glass fish, which leads to the conclusion it was produced outside of the Roman Empire.
This exhibition tells a historic and heroic story of people risking death to rescue their priceless cultural heritage. It features rare artefacts that have been traveling since 2006, touring France, Italy, the Netherlands, the US, Canada, Germany, Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, China and now Hong Kong.
Gold bowl, AD 25-50, Tillya Tepe, Tomb 4
The exhibition shows the importance and significant role played by ancient Afghanistan as the cultural intersection and a place of exchange along the Silk Road.
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Recorded civilization has existed in Afghanistan for over 4,000 years. Glistening Treasures in the Dust explores the ancient civilizations that have flourished at the crossroad of Greek, Roman, Indian and Chinese cultures.
Female figurine, Temple with niches, Aï Khanum, Before 145 BC, Bone: This female figurine is a rare example of a nude in Asian Hellenistic society. The pendent necklace and the dot between her eyebrows indicate Indian fashion.
This exhibit focuses on four archaeological sites that illustrate the importance of Afghanistan on the culture of the world today.
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The four sites are Tepe Fullol, with artefacts that date back to the Bronze Age (2200 – 1900 BC); the ancient city of Aï Khanum, founded by the successors of Alexander the Great; Tillya Tepe, where six members of a nomadic family were buried in 25-50 AD with over 20,000 thousand gold objects; and Begram, where a fleeing merchant bricked up his warehouse of imported goods intended for Silk Road trade and never came back.
Mask of Silenus, Begram, First century AD, Bronze: Mask of Silenus pays tribute to Silenus, the companion of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. It was said that he could predict the future after getting drunk.
This is a story of treasures twice found. Each of these archaeological findings has had a history as tumultuous as the country of Afghanistan itself.
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In April 1978, the centrist government in Afghanistan was overthrown by an unpopular communist coalition. This government was strongly opposed by Islamic tribal and urban groups called the Mujahideen.
Gold bracelet with lion heads, AD 25-50, Tillya Tepe, Tomb 6, Gold and turquoise
By 1979, the government became more destabilized, and the Soviet Union intervened with military support of the Afghan communist government.
Warlord battle destroyed half of Kabul
The Mujahideen rebellion grew, and with the support of the United States, the conflict resulted in a stalemate that ended with the withdrawal of Soviet forces from the country in 1989.
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In the power vacuum that was left, things got bad. Warlords battled over the spoils, and in the process destroyed half of the capital city of Kabul.
Pair of “King and Dragons” pendants, Tillya Tepe, AD 25-30, Gold, turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, carnelian and pearls: This pair of “King and Dragons” pendants displays a king ornately robed and surrounded by mythical creatures. Their crowns resemble the kind that is placed in deceased nomad’s tombs. Each king has an Indian-style dot on his forehead. Pendants like this later appeared in Siberia and as far away as Xinjiang, indicating the spread of Afghan cultural influence.
And then things got worse. By 1996, the Taliban pushed back warlords and seemed to offer peace. Instead, they enforced rigid enforcement of Islamic law and tribal traditions, which perpetuated more suffering on ordinary Afghans.
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The National Museum of Afghanistan History was founded in 1919 and moved to the current location in 1931. It became the pre-eminent repository of the best archaeological finds of this culturally rich region.
Hemispherical sundial, Before 145 BC, Limestone, Gymnasium, Ai Khanum
But from the coup d’etat in 1978, Russian invasion in1979, civil war and reign of the Taliban, terrible damage was inflicted on the museum and its contents. Looting of the museum started with the unrest in 1979.
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The Russian occupancy years were bad, but in 1993, in the civil battle for Kabul, the museum was hit by rockets, set alight and lost its roof.
National Museum was looted and in bad shape
It was estimated that 70 percent of its contents were destroyed or looted and that the 30 percent that remained was in very bad condition.
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In early 2001, the Taliban decided to destroy all pre-Islamic statues and objects. They saw any depiction of living things as Islamic apostasy, an affront to the almighty and to Koranic texts.
Handled dish, Amphora, Ewer with single handle are example of alabaster utensils that were common in ancient Greece and Rome, thereby showing this culture had influences that spread to Begram, Begram, First century AD.
They destroyed paintings, films and sculptures, not only to satisfy their religious obsession but also to destroy the history and memory of any competing ideology.
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This included blowing up two giant Buddhas from the fifth century in Bamiyan, one of which was the world’s tallest standing Buddha. By this time, the world had assumed the treasures in the National Museum were lost.
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But somehow, Afghan treasures survived.
Gold necklace, AD 25-50, Tillya Tepe, Tomb 3: Made up of eight rounded beads with repetitive engraved pattern, five smooth rounded beads and two conical beads
The most precious collection – The Bactrian hoard of about 20,600 ornaments, coins and other kinds of artefacts, made of gold, silver, ivory etc., that were found in burial mounds at Tillya Tepe were hidden away and saved.
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Credit goes to the director of the National Museum, who saw difficult times ahead and took precautions.
Gold necklace, AD 25-50, Tillya Tepe, Tomb 3: Made up of eight rounded beads with repetitive engraved pattern, five smooth rounded beads and two conical beads
He secretly started moving the most valuable pieces of the collection off-site and by 1988, the Bactrian gold was hidden inside vaults in the Central Bank of Afghanistan inside the Presidential Palace.
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Not until 2004 did these artefacts again see daylight.
The 231 items on display in this exhibition are a small sample of the collection secretly and courageously saved by Afghan museum staff. They willingly risked their lives for the belief that “a nation stays alive when its culture stays alive”.
Gold ingot – likely amalgams of precious metal booty looted by the nomadic invaders of Ai Khanum, After 145 BC, Palace treasury, Ai Khanum
The exhibit includes pieces unearthed at four different archaeological sites Tepe Fullol, Aï Khanum, Tillya Tepe, and Begram and reveals the historic course of ancient Afghanistan from the Bronze Age, Greek civilization, grassland civilization through to Kushan civilization, and shows the profound influence of foreign ancient cultures such as Greek, Indian and Roman on Afghanistan and its surrounding regions.
Mound of Tepe Fullol discovered in 1966
In 1966, farmers discovered five vessels of gold and seven of silver near the mound of Tepe Fullol. They started distributing it among themselves.
Fragments of a golden bowl with a boar motif, Tepe Fullol, 2200-1900 BC
By the time the National Museum staff arrived, they had even gone so far as to cut one cup into six pieces.
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This Bronze Age fragmented golden bowl with a boar motif includes a linked-pearl pattern along the rim and depicts a scene with a wild boar, trees and mountains.
Ancient Afghanistan was a crossroad for traders from diverse cultures
It is not a coincidence that this site is near deposits of the semi-precious mineral lapis lazuli. At that time, northern Afghanistan was the only source of this mineral.
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Lapis lazuli is important because, when ground into powder, it can be used to make a deep blue ultramarine colour favoured by Renaissance and Baroque artists. It was also used to make the funeral mask of Tutankhamun.
Circular bronze basin decorated with fish, Begram, First century AD
The discovery of gold and silverware of diverse styles at Tepe Fullol suggests that ancient Afghanistan was a crossroad for traders and merchants from diverse cultures.
Aï Khanum was founded in 300 BC
The Hellenistic city of Aï Khanum was founded in 300 BC by Seleucus I, one of Alexander’s successors, and sacked by nomads in 145 BC.
Gargoyle water spout, Fountain of the Oxus, Aï Khanum, Second century BC, Whitish limestone: This Gargoyle water spout was part of a fountain built as a bath for visitors for the nearby gymnasium. The gargoyle face is a stereotypical Greek theatrical mask.
French archaeologists excavated from 1964 to 1978 and found it to be the best-preserved Hellenistic city in Asia. The city had the urban planning of a Greek city with a gymnasium, theatre, a fountain and a library with Greek texts.
Gravesite Tillya Tepe was discovered in 1978
Tillya Tepe was discovered by Russian archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi in 1978. It was a gravesite of five women and a man.
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These people were nomads who had likely grown rich by sacking cities left behind by Alexander the Great and by preying on silk road caravans.
Signet ring with an image of Athena, Tillya Tepe, AD 25-30: Signet ring with an image of Athena displays a relief of the goddess of war while wearing a Greco-Bactrian helmet and holding a shield. Her Greek name is written in mirror image, indicating this ring was used as a signet.
The six people, their burial wealth indicating they were royalty, were buried with over 20,000 pieces of gold, more items than were found in King Tutankhamun’s tomb.
What makes this discovery important to Afghans is that all these pieces were made locally but with design features influenced by Greek, Indian and Chinese designs.
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Sarianidi’s excavation lasted less than a year because the imminent social unrest threatened the security of both the gold and the workers. Only the foresight of the National Museum’s director enabled this 20,000-piece collection to stay intact.
Begram contained 2,000 first century AD artefacts
Between 1937 and 1939 French archaeologists discovered two sealed rooms in Begram, a city sixty kilometres north of Kabul.
Plaster Medallion with a male figure, Begram, First century AD: Medallion with a male figure portrays the standardised ideal of Greek and Roman male beauty at the time.
There they found around 2,000 first century AD artefacts. The discovery included Indian style ivory carvings, Greco-Roman style bronze weights, ancient plaster reliefs, Roman glassware and Chinese lacquerware.
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All this confirms that Afghanistan was a significant crossroad between Eastern and Western civilisations.
Ivory Statuette of a goddess, Begram, First century AD: Statuette of a goddess portrays a standing goddess with a full and curvaceous figure. The straight nose and thick lips are stylistically reminiscent of Indian art, but the crown-like hair and body-hugging dress are inspired by ancient Greek art.
Glistening Treasures in the Dust – Ancient Artefacts of Afghanistan – precious relics of the National Museum of Afghanistan on loan to Hong Kong, is an important exhibition of priceless artefacts and a historic and heroic story of people risking their lives so that the cultural history of Afghanistan is preserved.
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This showing of invaluable treasures coincides with the Belt and Road Initiative, which fosters cultural exchanges and future co-operation between Hong Kong and Afghanistan.
Text Martin Wray / Photos Cammy Yiu and Hong Kong Museum of History
