VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul, on view March 1 - May 17, 2009 at the Audrey Jones Beck Building.

Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul explores the rich cultural heritage of ancient Afghanistan from the Bronze Age (2500 B.C.) through the rise of trade along the Silk Road in the first century A.D.

Strategically located on the commercial routes between China and India in the East and Europe in the West, Afghanistan was at the crossroads of civilizations in Central Asia.

This unique blend of cultures and artistic styles is seen in nearly 230 artworks: Bronze Age incised gold vases; bronze and stone sculptures of Greek heroes; graceful ivory apsaras, the beautiful women of Indian tradition; Roman type glass vessels and plaster reliefs; magnificent Persian and Scythian style gold jewelry; as well as distinctively local works. Gold ornaments from the famed Bactrian hoard, a 2,000-year-old treasure cache discovered in 1978 but hidden from view until 2003, are included.

Visitors also will gain insight into how the artifacts survived the recent decades of war and chaos and will learn the stories of heroic Afghans who risked their lives to save these and other national cultural treasures from destruction during Soviet occupation and Taliban rule.

This exhibition was organized by the National Geographic Society and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston;
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

This exhibition 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.

In Houston, this exhibition is made possible by Linn Energy.

Additional generous support provided by Ambassador and Mrs. Hushang Ansary.

Pictured: Tillya tepe, One of a Pair of "Dragon Master" Pendants, 1st century B.C. — 1st century A.D. National Museum, Kabul. © Photo: Thierry Ollivier / Musée Guimet.