Bactria to me is Alexander country, the
lands of Central Asia where he spent two years
of his life in 228 and 227 BC. The exhibition “Afghanistan, hidden treasures from the National
Museum, Kabul” is travelling around the world. It
centers on four
excavation sites covering a period of roughly 2,500 years, i.e. from two
thousand BC to the third century AD.
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I knew that over the years French and Russian
archeologists have been working in the area, entrusting their treasures to the National Museum
in Kabul.
That is till 1979 when the troops of the USSR
invaded Afghanistan.
Archeological diggings by Frenchman Paul Bernard at Ai Khanoum
for instance had to be interrupted abruptly and when he returned to the site
recently, it was thoroughly plundered and destroyed. Most damage was however
done a few years later when the Taliban considered it their duty to obliterate
every single image of people wherever they found it: on frescoes, mosaics,
paintings, reliefs or statues. We all have witnessed what happened to the giant
Buddha statues in Bamyan but not too many people are aware that the Museum of Kabul was one heap of rubble after
the Taliban had thoroughly ravaged it – a frightening experience! A precious
heritage that survived for centuries is being totally destroyed with just one
single blow!
Bactria, to use the old name, is located in Central Asia right on the crossroads of old caravan routes, later the Silk Road, the meeting point of all trade routes between east and west. It is not surprising that Alexander the Great put so much time and effort in the conquest of this area for it not only meant a way to secure his back while heading for India, but also an economic asset precisely because of the geographic location of Bactria. Maybe his marriage with Roxana, the daughter of the local chief, was after all a high political move rather than real or impulsive love as some are suggesting? Who knows?
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The first
objects I am confronted with as I enter the exhibition, are three statues from
the Musée Guimet in Paris,
dating from Buddhist times but showing a definite Hellenistic influence. You
can’t miss them, the way they are presented in full floodlights against a black
background, they immediately give your a taste of what to expect. There is this
marvelous high relief of a Genius with Flowers from the 4th-5th century
AD found in the Buddhist monastery of Hadda in remote northern Afghanistan,
yet still magnificently Hellenistic.
At a right angle, in fact right in front of me, stands a showcase filled with one hundred Buddhist heads, sorted by size, i.e. the smaller ones on the lower steps and the bigger ones at the top. This is a fascinating group for all the heads are different and as I take a closer look at each and every one of them either at eye level or from the side, I see how they stare back at me or just ignore me looking away in an absent glance. I take my time to inspect and admire each face, some more Hellenistic than others, with a more elongated or rounder face, longer ears, closed eyelids or just peeping at us visitors. All in all, an amazing group!
From here, the way leads into the movie theater where this French documentary is shown about their exploration and excavations in the magnificent Afghan landscape. It is well documented with clear maps and a captivating view behind the scene – absolutely worth watching.
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The oldest finds (2,000 BC) come from Tepe
Fullol. There is only a handful gold bowls and beakers made
of thin beaten gold that somehow remind me of old Mycene and the
death mask of Agamemnon. Archeologists disagree about the origins of
this form of art and the link to other cultures remains obscure. To complicate
things, most of the treasure have disappeared, first because the gold was split
up between the local tribal chiefs of Northern Afghanistan when it was
discovered, and secondly because the entire collection at the Museum of Kabul
fell apart. These pieces are exhibited a little out of the way. That is rather
unfortunate for they deserve better after being hidden for four thousand years,
don’t they?
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The section about Ai Khanoum
is the most important one, at least in my eyes for it is in fact the very
reason of my visit as this city was built in the wake of Alexander the
Great’s conquest of the area in 328-327 BC. I am very much impressed by the
very idea of discovering this Hellenistic city at the banks of the Amu Daria
River (modern Oxus River),
complete with Gymnasium, Citadel, Theater and temples. It is not as obvious is
it would seem! The Greeks even built a Palace here, much unlike anything else
for they never had a king to build a palace for. This one is based on the
Persian model but decorated in Greek style with monumental Corinthian capitals
on top of the columns and flat roofs with the so-called antefix decorations at
the edge. A capital and several antefixes are on display here together with
objects like a water jet in the shape of a theatrical mask; a couple of sun
dials (which I didn’t expect to find here at all); a Hellenistic Hermes pillar
of high quality from the Gymnasium; a face of either a man or a woman; bronze
decorative elements; etc.
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Eye catcher is the Disk of Cybele from the 3rd
century BC made of gilded silver picturing the goddess Cybele on a
chariot in Greek style mixed with several eastern influences featuring the fire
altar and Helios.
What really excites me is the stone pedestal bearing the Delphic precepts. This wisdom comes from 5th century Delphi and teaches us something in the line of “As a child, learn good manners. As a young man, learn to control your passions. In middle age, be just. In old age, give good advice. When you die, do so without regret.” Can you imagine the impact of this old text, this old wisdom that travelled all the way from Greece to resurface unexpectedly 2,500 years later at the very edge of the desert steppes! That leaves me utterly speechless for a while!
Next comes the collection from Begram, a small town north of Kabul, where in the years before WWII two sealed chambers were uncovered still containing their treasures of ivory furniture from India, plaster medallions and most strikingly an extensive collection of glasswork of clearly Hellenistic origin. Here too each archeologist seem to have his own theory whether these chambers were set up as storage area (since all the ivory was put together, and so was all the bronze and all the glass), or as religious offerings, or maybe this simply is a hidden treasure.
In any case, the glass-work alone is absolutely fabulous and unique in shape and color and decoration. There are for instance these three goblets (they look more like vases to me, so tall). The countless pieces have been glued back together but just by looking at the colors of these fishing and hunting scenes, you would swear they were painted only yesterday – so vivid and lively! Now try to imagine the impact of such a find, for these drinking beakers were produced in Alexandria in the first century AD and travelled all the way from Egypt to Kabul.
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You have to admit that you are looking at something very exceptional. We all know there was an active exchange of goods in antiquity and it comes to us like a simple statement from a history book but here you are faced with the very product of such trade! I keep staring at this glasswork with wide open eyes. Wow! Next to these painted glasses, there are a couple of glass drinking goblets or vases in the shape of fish, blue and off-white with shiny eyes and sharp fins, I’ve never seen anything like this. There are glass-blown vases with honeycomb motives or wrapped in a net of glass lace; an elegant black glass vase with high handle next to a translucent one covered with designs applied with gold leaf; for me an unprecedented variety of delicate, colored and painted glass that makes the cut crystal bowl look rather primitive and dull. Amazing!
In another showcase, all the ivory artifacts have been brought together.
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These objects from the first century AD originally all
come from India
but again are drenched in a Hellenistic sauce. Unique are the ivory River
Goddesses of approximately 45
cm high, clearly from Buddhist background, among the
exquisite openwork ivory panels showing Indian ladies in exotic gardens with
fountains and temple-like buildings, a few monster figures, etc. Strange is the
odd shaped earthenware jar with blue-green glaze representing a bird-woman for
I cannot tie this style or shape to anything I have seen before.
The bronze artifacts somehow don’t add anything new. I only remember the cute figurine of Amor carrying a lamp and the young rider who seems to refer to Alexander the Great because of the way he is sitting on his horse that is lost from underneath him.
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I stop to admire the row of plaster medallions,
each about 15 cm
in diameter, also dating from the first century AD. They look like oversized molds for the production
of coins but were used to create the bottom motives for silver plates and
goblets as the silver was poured and hammered around these molds. There are a
few striking designs, like the Winged Amor or the high relief of a
youth. Just imagine these portraits staring back at you from the bottom of your
silver goblet filled with water or wine. I certainly would love to give this a
try, wouldn’t you?
Finally, there is the gold treasure from Tillya Tepe, a tomb hill just outside the Greek Bactrian city of Emshi-Tepe in the oasis of Sherberghan. The content of these six tombs was barely rescued when the Soviet-Union entered Afghanistan in 1979 and it was safely transferred to the Museum in Kabul. There was a seventh tomb in that hill at the Turkmenistan border but ViktorSarianidi, the Russian archeologist who had led these excavations together with his Afghan colleagues ran out of time, and when he recently returned the tomb had been thoroughly plundered. Such a shame! Luckily for us, Sarianidi managed to travel to the Museum of Kabul in the 1980’s in order to take pictures of all 20,000 excavated objects and he published an impressive book. So at least we know exactly what was found at Tillya Tepe.
What followed were uncertain times for the art world and we owe it to a handful of brave Afghans that this treasure was rescued, safely locked away in the vaults of the Presidential Palace. They managed to keep the place a secret. The Museum itself has suffered a great deal from the civil wars as it was repeatedly plundered and artifacts were stolen, and in 1994 it was hit by a rocket setting it on fire. How dreadful! The worst however was still to come when in 2001 the Taliban decided not only to destroy the huge Buddha statues at Bamyan but also to annihilate the 2,500 statues and reliefs of the Museum. We had to wait till 2004 when the government of Afghanistan decided that the situation was safe enough to bring the gold treasures out in the open again, but as the Museum in Kabul cannot shelter this precious collection yet, they contacted the Musée Guimet in Paris. Together they agreed to send these rich finds on a travelling tour. After Parisand Turin (Italy), the collection can presently be seen in Amsterdam, moved on to the united States and is now touring Australia.
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The tombs are beautifully presented in high rectangular boxes covered with a glass plate showing the contours of the deceased with underneath each piece of jewelry in its original place. They unearthed one warrior and five women, the man lying at the top of the hill between the two most beautifully dressed women, the other three women being found in the hillside which should have looked like a kurgan according to the nomads’ rituals.
This part of the exhibition clearly states that Northern Afghanistan was the melting pot of different cultures where the influence of China and Greece are interwoven with the lifestyle of the steppe people. Each tomb is an exploration by itself, where all kinds of artifacts of different origins keep each other company in breathtaking harmony.
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Of course they all have gold bracelets and anklets
inlaid or not with semi-precious stones, but I notice how some women hold a
Chinese mirror, from the Han-dynasty apparently; gold pins with on top a
gold flower with open petals and vibrant pistils; hairpins as I know them from
Japanese geishas but executed in thin flaky gold and tiny pearls; a ring
engraved with an Athena figure and Greek inscription, and rings inlaid with
precious stones; ornaments for the neck of the robe laid out as a necklace made
of gold, turquoise, garnet, carnelian and pyrite; gold earrings preferably
inlaid with turquoise; pendants like those of the Dragon Master with
turquoise, garnet, lapis-lazuli, carnelian and pearls in a rare symbiosis of
Greek, Indian and Chinese elements; a set of gold clasps showing Amor riding
a dolphin with turquoise and mother of pearl; even gold foot soles!
The warrior, supposedly a prince, carries an iron dagger with gold covered handle depicting animals and inlaid with turquoise. His belt made of braided goldthread-strings connecting nine gold medallions showing a warrior riding a lion is an exceptional masterpiece. His head rested on a phial, a plate used for offerings, made of pure gold and measuring nothing less than 23 cm in diameter!
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The list seems endless for beside the most striking objects, the collection contains numerous coins, pendants and various decoration items. As the most recent coin found in these tombs is that of Emperor Tiberius (who ruled from 14 to 37 AD), they could be dated with certainty to the first century AD. What we see here is a true amalgamation of art from the steppes (I would personally call this Scythian art), Greek, Indian and Chinese art.
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I
am terribly excited when I finally catch up with the Aphrodite of Bactria,
a five centimeters high gold appliqué inlaid with turquoise. I know the piece
from pictures and references but here she is. I go down on my knees to have a
closer look and for an instant she is mine alone. The piece de resistance
however seems to be the gold crown with gold spangles and flowers. This is in
fact a travel crown that can be taken apart as it consists of five separate
pieces mounted around a tiny stem holding flattened branches that fit into the
band of the crown itself. The spangles are gently shaking as people walk by, so
imagine this crown out in the open steppe where the wind can play freely with
every tiny detail! A true gem!
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It is still unclear to which nomad tribes the tombs
of Tillya Tepe belong and how far this melting pot of
civilizations reached out. It is generally admitted that these steppe people
came from northwestern China
or from Parthia (now part of
Iran and Turkmenistan),
but who knows? Further investigations will tell us some day. For the time being
we have to accept that this territory is huge for we have jade from China,
garnets from India, turquoise from eastern Iran and lapis lazuli from the mines
of Badakhsan (today’s Afghanistan),
all found together in this area. And yet we have not mentioned the traders and
artists who were on a constant move between China,
India and the Roman Empire to produce these beautiful artifacts. It’s a
small world – or is it not so small after all?
Anyway, I am convinced that this wide exchange of art and knowledge would not have been possible without Alexander the Great conquering these territories and organizing his Empire as he did.
[Pictures from The Australian by Ollivier Thierry]
[Map from National Geographic showing Alexander's Route]
Bactria, to use the old name, is located in Central Asia right on the crossroads of old caravan routes, later the Silk Road, the meeting point of all trade routes between east and west. It is not surprising that Alexander the Great put so much time and effort in the conquest of this area for it not only meant a way to secure his back while heading for India, but also an economic asset precisely because of the geographic location of Bactria. Maybe his marriage with Roxana, the daughter of the local chief, was after all a high political move rather than real or impulsive love as some are suggesting? Who knows?
At a right angle, in fact right in front of me, stands a showcase filled with one hundred Buddhist heads, sorted by size, i.e. the smaller ones on the lower steps and the bigger ones at the top. This is a fascinating group for all the heads are different and as I take a closer look at each and every one of them either at eye level or from the side, I see how they stare back at me or just ignore me looking away in an absent glance. I take my time to inspect and admire each face, some more Hellenistic than others, with a more elongated or rounder face, longer ears, closed eyelids or just peeping at us visitors. All in all, an amazing group!
From here, the way leads into the movie theater where this French documentary is shown about their exploration and excavations in the magnificent Afghan landscape. It is well documented with clear maps and a captivating view behind the scene – absolutely worth watching.
What really excites me is the stone pedestal bearing the Delphic precepts. This wisdom comes from 5th century Delphi and teaches us something in the line of “As a child, learn good manners. As a young man, learn to control your passions. In middle age, be just. In old age, give good advice. When you die, do so without regret.” Can you imagine the impact of this old text, this old wisdom that travelled all the way from Greece to resurface unexpectedly 2,500 years later at the very edge of the desert steppes! That leaves me utterly speechless for a while!
Next comes the collection from Begram, a small town north of Kabul, where in the years before WWII two sealed chambers were uncovered still containing their treasures of ivory furniture from India, plaster medallions and most strikingly an extensive collection of glasswork of clearly Hellenistic origin. Here too each archeologist seem to have his own theory whether these chambers were set up as storage area (since all the ivory was put together, and so was all the bronze and all the glass), or as religious offerings, or maybe this simply is a hidden treasure.
In any case, the glass-work alone is absolutely fabulous and unique in shape and color and decoration. There are for instance these three goblets (they look more like vases to me, so tall). The countless pieces have been glued back together but just by looking at the colors of these fishing and hunting scenes, you would swear they were painted only yesterday – so vivid and lively! Now try to imagine the impact of such a find, for these drinking beakers were produced in Alexandria in the first century AD and travelled all the way from Egypt to Kabul.
You have to admit that you are looking at something very exceptional. We all know there was an active exchange of goods in antiquity and it comes to us like a simple statement from a history book but here you are faced with the very product of such trade! I keep staring at this glasswork with wide open eyes. Wow! Next to these painted glasses, there are a couple of glass drinking goblets or vases in the shape of fish, blue and off-white with shiny eyes and sharp fins, I’ve never seen anything like this. There are glass-blown vases with honeycomb motives or wrapped in a net of glass lace; an elegant black glass vase with high handle next to a translucent one covered with designs applied with gold leaf; for me an unprecedented variety of delicate, colored and painted glass that makes the cut crystal bowl look rather primitive and dull. Amazing!
In another showcase, all the ivory artifacts have been brought together.
The bronze artifacts somehow don’t add anything new. I only remember the cute figurine of Amor carrying a lamp and the young rider who seems to refer to Alexander the Great because of the way he is sitting on his horse that is lost from underneath him.
Finally, there is the gold treasure from Tillya Tepe, a tomb hill just outside the Greek Bactrian city of Emshi-Tepe in the oasis of Sherberghan. The content of these six tombs was barely rescued when the Soviet-Union entered Afghanistan in 1979 and it was safely transferred to the Museum in Kabul. There was a seventh tomb in that hill at the Turkmenistan border but ViktorSarianidi, the Russian archeologist who had led these excavations together with his Afghan colleagues ran out of time, and when he recently returned the tomb had been thoroughly plundered. Such a shame! Luckily for us, Sarianidi managed to travel to the Museum of Kabul in the 1980’s in order to take pictures of all 20,000 excavated objects and he published an impressive book. So at least we know exactly what was found at Tillya Tepe.
What followed were uncertain times for the art world and we owe it to a handful of brave Afghans that this treasure was rescued, safely locked away in the vaults of the Presidential Palace. They managed to keep the place a secret. The Museum itself has suffered a great deal from the civil wars as it was repeatedly plundered and artifacts were stolen, and in 1994 it was hit by a rocket setting it on fire. How dreadful! The worst however was still to come when in 2001 the Taliban decided not only to destroy the huge Buddha statues at Bamyan but also to annihilate the 2,500 statues and reliefs of the Museum. We had to wait till 2004 when the government of Afghanistan decided that the situation was safe enough to bring the gold treasures out in the open again, but as the Museum in Kabul cannot shelter this precious collection yet, they contacted the Musée Guimet in Paris. Together they agreed to send these rich finds on a travelling tour. After Parisand Turin (Italy), the collection can presently be seen in Amsterdam, moved on to the united States and is now touring Australia.
The tombs are beautifully presented in high rectangular boxes covered with a glass plate showing the contours of the deceased with underneath each piece of jewelry in its original place. They unearthed one warrior and five women, the man lying at the top of the hill between the two most beautifully dressed women, the other three women being found in the hillside which should have looked like a kurgan according to the nomads’ rituals.
This part of the exhibition clearly states that Northern Afghanistan was the melting pot of different cultures where the influence of China and Greece are interwoven with the lifestyle of the steppe people. Each tomb is an exploration by itself, where all kinds of artifacts of different origins keep each other company in breathtaking harmony.
The warrior, supposedly a prince, carries an iron dagger with gold covered handle depicting animals and inlaid with turquoise. His belt made of braided goldthread-strings connecting nine gold medallions showing a warrior riding a lion is an exceptional masterpiece. His head rested on a phial, a plate used for offerings, made of pure gold and measuring nothing less than 23 cm in diameter!
The list seems endless for beside the most striking objects, the collection contains numerous coins, pendants and various decoration items. As the most recent coin found in these tombs is that of Emperor Tiberius (who ruled from 14 to 37 AD), they could be dated with certainty to the first century AD. What we see here is a true amalgamation of art from the steppes (I would personally call this Scythian art), Greek, Indian and Chinese art.
Anyway, I am convinced that this wide exchange of art and knowledge would not have been possible without Alexander the Great conquering these territories and organizing his Empire as he did.
[Pictures from The Australian by Ollivier Thierry]
