Cross-Cultural Treasures from Afghanistan at Asian Art Museum

Turquoise-inlaid gold jewelry depicting Greco-Roman deities riding Central Asian dragons is surely a rarity in the history of art. But so is the whole collection from Kabul, currently on view at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Gold bowls from the Bronze Age, ivory statuettes from India, and Roman glassware with hunting and harvesting scenes are among the many ancient artifacts in the opening gallery of the exhibit. Yet the major draw of the show is a stunning collection of wearable gold excavated from a 2000 year-old burial hill of a nomadic family, discovered by a then Soviet archeologist Viktor Sarianidi in 1978. Throughout the war years that followed, workers of the National Museum in Kabul preserved the treasures in unmarked boxes hidden in the presidential bank vault—often risking their very lives. Now, for the first time “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul” is open to the world, telling a story of a rich and diverse culture flourishing in the central land of the Silk Road around the beginning of our era. The six undisturbed tombs in Tillya Tepe, excavated by Sarianidi, contained over 20 thousand gold pieces in the order they were positioned on the bodies… A six-feet tall man of wealth, wearing a sheer gold belt embellished with intricate medallions featuring warriors on panthers—each with their own distinct features—in tomb number IV. His five female companions (wives?) from 20 to 30 y.o., most likely sacrificed upon his death so he wouldn’t enter the underworld alone—in tombs I, II, III, V and VI—each containing gold-and-gems personal items, obviously worn during lifetime, all different, reflecting the personal style of the wearer whose life was not valued half as much as her jewelry… The most striking feature of the collection is the fusion of multicultural imagery produced by possibly the same workshop with the local materials and most likely by local goldsmiths. Another indication of the nomadic lifestyle—a collapsible gold crown (photo) easy to dissemble and fold for long periods of travel. “Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures” is on view through January 25, 2009 at 200 Larkin St., SF. For info, call 415-581-3500 or www.asianart.org