hidden treasures from the national museum, kabul

this was such a special exhibit to see. it's laid out in wonderful detail with elaborate maps of afghanistan and the silk road, a film telling about the excitement of opening the underground bank vaults in which the treasures were hidden for twenty five years, photographs of the mountains and steppes and deserts of afghanistan, catalog books which i used to locate a specific object, and well lit display cases. there is also an interesting computerized representation of the graeco-bactrian palace that is found at ai khanum in northern afghanistan. of course it's the objects themselves that are the true beauty. i was entranced with the waterspout below. it was found in working order on "the fountain of the oxus" at ai khanum. it is a reproduction of a comedic mask worn by the character of the slave cook and represents the greek cultural theatre life found in the city. i sketched it and managed to take a photo. i also became enchanted with a statue of aphrodite .. at least i thought it was a statue. it was actually a small applique and it took me a few trips around the exhibit to find because it's really only about two inches tall. i thought it was about a foot tall! it was found in the region of bactria at the archeological site of tillye tepe where a tomb was discovered of a nomadic chieftan. following the burial practices of the time, he was accompanied by members of his household (five women surrounded the chieftan's figure . . what are the chances of five women dying at the same time as the head male figure . . weren't they probably sacrificed? i get shivers down my spine just imagining the emotional atmosphere leading up to the burial) and various treasured objects. the aphrodite figure is special as she embraces elements of greek, indian and iranian culture. she has the facial features of india and iran, wears abundant bracelets and has a bindi (the third eye or sixth chakra in hindu tradition) on her forehead. she also has a grecian drape to her robes and the wings of nike. there is still so much more to see in the exhibit. i wouldn't mind going again.


we visited the greek and roman wing after the afghanistan exhibit. i really loved the terracotta statuettes found in many burial sites in attica (made in the fifth to fourth century BC). the one below is of a character actor found in plays and reminded me of the waterspout.